The Japan crisis has prompted many of us to question how to help people in Japan. It inspired an idea by Albert Sensada, a system engineer team lead in Barcelona, and keen origami fan, to create 1000 cranes for our Japanese colleagues. When the earthquake and tsunami struck, a young girl in Madrid started her own 1000 cranes project and asked people to send her cranes which Albert did. This then prompted him to create cranes as gifts for his Japanese colleagues based in Barcelona and prompted him to start his own 1000 cranes project.
An old Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. It’s a common belief in Japan that folding 1000 paper cranes makes a person’s wish come true, making it a popular gift from friends and family.
An origami workshop was organized in the Barcelona office during lunch time where a few origami fans taught colleagues to make paper cranes. These colleagues then went home and over the weekend taught their families and together made enough cranes to create the senbazuru (the Japanese term for one thousand origami paper cranes held together by string).
Albert said: “After the earthquake and tsunami struck I made an origami crane for each of my five Japanese colleagues in Barcelona. Seeing how much my colleagues appreciated the gesture encouraged me to start the 1000 cranes project. So many people from the office took time out of their weekends to participate – many of them involved their families too. Without their support and efforts it wouldn’t have been possible.”
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Guys in Spain are so nice 🙂
アDONG 