1000 Paper Cranes of Hope

When I was a child of around seven or eight, my classmates and I learned about Sadako Sasaki who, at the age of two, survived the Hiroshima disaster, only to pass away from Leukemia caused by the nuclear disaster at the age of 12.

During her illness in hospital, Sadako found out about the Japanese folklore that said if you fold 1000 origami paper cranes, you will be granted your true wish. She began requesting scraps of paper from anyone she met and folding the cranes. While she reached and actually surpassed her goal before passing away, her wish to be well again and to return to her family did not come true.
 
However, her story lived on as her classmates and family began to share her incredible story with other schools, eventually leading to a fundraising project which saw enough money raised to build a statue of a young girl surrounded by cranes in her home city of Hiroshima.

Nowadays, these cranes have come to symbolise hope in times of war or strife. Every year during the Obon festival – a Japanese Buddhist holiday to remember the spirits of one’s deceased relatives – thousands of people visit her statue to leave their own paper cranes, while her brother, Masahiro Sasaki, and remaining family donate one of Sadako’s cranes as a sign of peace and goodwill. As a child, I spent countless hours on my own and with my classmates folding these paper cranes, something I had completely forgotten about until very recently.

In these great times of uncertainty, I felt the paper crane was a wonderful symbol of hope, and it just so happened that I recalled my childhood of folding origami cranes as I walked home from the park recently and noticed a folded up piece of paper on the ground. It seemed like a true sign from out of the blue, and I have now committed to folding 1000 paper cranes to donate this year at the end of Obon Week, 15th August, which also happens to be the day my mother passed away herself from cancer 22 years ago. The paper cranes will go to local care homes, so often forgotten during the Covid-19 epidemic, to children’s cancer wards, such as that which Sadako found herself in, and to the homeless as part of the Under One Sky project, so that the young, old and vulnerable members of our community can look at them to find hope in dark times.

I am asking for funds to help me along the way on this project, with all money raised being automatically donated to the incredible charity Under One Sky, which has been working tirelessly during the epidemic to hand out hot meals, blankets, hand sanitizer, coffees and more, and to hold conversations with people affected by homelessness, which has increased during these difficult times. The work they do has been inspiring, bringing real hope to the streets of London, and many people in the hospitality industry – itself also majorly affected – have been lending a hand to help even during their own difficult times. I'm thrilled to say that the company I work for - William Grant & Sons - will be double matching all donations raised as part of its #Standfast campaign so your funds will truly make a real difference. 

I hope to inspire others to join me in folding their own paper cranes and asking for donations to either Under One Sky, or a cause that means something to them. I will also send origami paper to anyone in the hospitality world who would like to join in and hold tutorials on how to do this. Folding the cranes is a very meditative experience, a skill which allows people to take time out for themselves and focus on a craft that has such a beautiful history and sentiment.  I will be sharing my story and the campaign as it progresses via my social media channel on Instagram: @themisswhisky using the hashtag: #1000cranesofhope 

Together, I aim to bring a bit of hope and colour to people’s lives in what has been a very difficult time for so many. Let's spread a message of hope to the world right now: hope that times can change, that we can all come together at the end to all fight for a more positive and balanced future for everyone.