Thursday, September 9, 2010

The Leta Project

Have you heard the legend of Sadako and the 1000 cranes? Wikipedia says; One of the most famous origami designs is the Japanese crane. The crane is auspicious in Japanese culture. Legend says that anyone who folds one thousand paper cranes will have their heart's desire come true. The origami crane ( orizuru in Japanese) has become a symbol of peace because of this legend, and because of a young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was exposed to the radiation of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as an infant, and it took its inevitable toll on her health. She was then a hibakusha — an atom bomb survivor. By the time she was twelve in 1955, she was dying of leukemia. Hearing the legend, she decided to fold one thousand origami cranes so that she could live. However, when she saw that the other children in her ward were dying, she realized that she would not survive and wished instead for world peace and an end to suffering.

A popular version of the tale is that Sadako folded 644 cranes before she died; her classmates then continued folding cranes in honor of their friend. She was buried with a wreath of 1,000 cranes to honor her dream.
Sadako wrote a haiku that translates into english as:

I shall write peace upon your wings, and you shall fly around the world so that children will no longer have to die this way

That's where The Leta Project comes in. For every 50 cranes we are sent, we will donate a memory box to a local hospital or family in need. Each box will contain two blankets (handmade) one for baby and one for mom and dad to keep. A small teddy and a certificate to receive a "weighted" Bear from Mollybears.com. We will also include a Cd of songs to comfort, a tiny hat, and other little "treasures" that will bring comfort to a grieving family. Please go to
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/The-Leta-Project/146356652057287 for more information and to show your support! We have one family right now that will be receiving a memory box very soon!!
Thanks

1 comment:

  1. The Leta Project sounds like a wonderful tribute to you daughter. I'm flattered to be on your list of favourites.

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