Local Students Send Support To Japan With Origami

Students at Palm Desert Middle School made over 1,000 pieces of origami cranes in less than a week.

The gifts will be delivered to Japan. The students assembled the cranes in strands so that families can hang them.

The cranes, known in Japan as “Senbazuru,” are meant to bring good luck. The students wanted to send well wishes to that country as it recovers from March’s earthquake and tsunami.

The origami project was inspired by a book titled “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.” According to the story, a Japanese girl who developed leukemia after the dropping of the atomic bomb wished to be healthy again.

In order to get her one wish, she had to make one thousand paper cranes.

Teacher Debra Ruderman introduced the story to her students. She took pride knowing they took on an elaborate task.

“They learned about tolerance and about caring and about doing something from their hearts,” she said.

United Parcel Service will be delivering the care packages for free.

Accompanying the origami cranes are letters and messages that each student wrote.

Japan may be on the other side of the globe, but these students proved that love comes in all languages.