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On Wednesday 4 August, staff and volunteers from Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre visited Rozelle Public School during Education and Multicultural week to present a Sadako schools project. As we remember the tragedy of Hiroshima Day when the atomic bomb was deployed on 6 August 1945, we went to Rozelle Public school to teach the students how to make paper cranes and tell the story of a girl called Sadako.
Lynne White Crane, a local artist came to the centre with an idea to promote cross cultural curiousity and extend the hand of friendship to students in Japan. The centre was pleased to be involved and was lucky enough to have a Japanese TAFE student on community development placement, Akiko Okawa, who could provide valuable cultural specific input into the project.
In 2009, Lynne who is also Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre volunteer, went on a holiday to Japan. On her trip she went on to Hiroshima to see the Peace Park and Bomb Dome and museum. The museum was built in response to the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. While Lynne was there she met some Japanese school children who were learning English and they presented her with a peace crane.
In Japan, Sadako is known as a symbol of peace because of her cranes and at Hiroshima there is a statue of Sadako holding a crane in her hand. Around the museum, people from all over the world have hung paper cranes in the tree branches. At the museum Lynne also bought a book called “Sadako and the one thousand paper cranes” about a girl who at the age of 12 developed radiation poisoning from the Hiroshima bombing.
While she was in hospital Sadako began folding paper cranes. She believed if she could fold 1,000 cranes her wish would come true, to get well and to end all suffering. She made 644 cranes before she passed away. Her school friends folded 356 more cranes to make 1,000 cranes which she was buried with.
We visited 2 Grade 3 classes and the students enjoyed learning basic Japanese words, completing an answer sheet on their interests to send to Japan as well as the making of oragami paper cranes. The children also had a chance to see beautiful Japanese traditional clothes Kimono. They were really fast learners, and we had so many cranes made at the end of the day. We are going to send these paper cranes and letters to Daido Elementary school in Yamaguchi prefecture in Japan soon, and we are looking forward to hearing from the Daido students very soon!
We would like to thank all the participants who made this special event come together.
Rozelle Public School
Teachers Peter Vagne from Bismark and Nicole Kattana from Aegean classes and their students: Nell, Stella, Oisin, Will, Toby, Jackson, Kyra, Ben, Hal, Olivia, Owen, Jack, Lara, Daniel, Henry, Imogen, Talia, Milena, Perrin, Zoe, Finlay, Charlie, Baxter, Emily, Georgina, Jennifer, Sophie, Edenave, Ben, Ella, Paul, Joo, Aiden, Shannon, Jessica and Kate
Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre staff and volunteers
Lynne White Crane (Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre)
Akiko Okawa (TAFE student)
Virginia Brill (TAFE student)
Holly Stewart (Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre)
Lisa Smajlov (Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre)
Jessie Park (TAFE student)
Ai Motomura (TAFE student) |
