1,000 Cranes Carry Hope to Japan

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale violently shook the northeastern coast of Japan. The tsunami waves that followed caused severe damage to Japan, leaving approximately 21,000 dead, injured or missing. As the residents of Japan grieve their losses and bury their dead, they struggle to deal with a lack of electricity, safe water, food and transportation.

Many organizations, like the Red Cross, the International Medical Corps, UNICEF and Save the Children have rallied to raise funds to help those in need. Volunteers and fundraising efforts have sprung up all over the world.

Interestingly, one common thread appears to string its way through many of these efforts - the powerful vision of hope portrayed by 1,000 origami cranes. According to Wikipedia, the crane is viewed as a mystical and holy creature by the Japanese. Legend holds that folding 1,000 paper origami cranes will make a person's wish come true.

One group -  1,000 Cranes for Japan - has taken this message to heart. They encourage visitors to their website to type a message on a virtual origami crane, fold the message and then join a community of well-wishers in sending a message of hope and healing to Japan.  Currently, the site has completed three strings of 1,000 cranes.

 

Those that would like to offer hope in the way of a financial contribution are encouraged to donate via a Google Crisis Response website that has been set up to aid the victims of the deadly earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This website is linked to the 1,000 Cranes for Japan website. 

These efforts reveal that the world is largely comprised of kind and generous people who do not hesitate to extend a helping hand to those in need. Brothers and sisters that may speak different languages, but yet still understand the language of hope and caring.