One thousand paper cranes created last semester by the fourth- and fifth-graders at Ke Kula ‘O Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u public charter school finally reached their destination July 19 — the Children’s Peace Monument at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. ADVERTISING One
One thousand paper cranes created last semester by the fourth- and fifth-graders at Ke Kula ‘O Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u public charter school finally reached their destination July 19 — the Children’s Peace Monument at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan.
Inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young Japanese girl who died of leukemia at the age of 12 after being exposed to radiation through the bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, about 60 students at Nawahi school folded 1,000 origami cranes and strung them together in a beautiful “lei” as a prayer for world peace.
This summer, during the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the school’s Japanese language teacher, kumu “Pilialoha” Kimiko Tomita Smith, made the journey to Japan to present and dedicate the Nawahi students’ “Lei of World Peace” to the peace monument.
“When I offered the paper cranes to the Children’s Peace Monument, I was thinking of my students who strung their wishes for world peace into this beautiful lei,” Smith said.
“I am so proud of them who created the lei with patience, intent and concentration to show their strong commitment to make the world a more peaceful place.
“I hope that my students have learned the true meaning of peace through the 1,000 origami cranes project, and their thoughts and prayers for world peace that they folded into their paper cranes were conveyed to the people of Hiroshima,” Smith said.
