Sadako Sasaki: A Marathi Story of Origami & Peace

"LET'S KEEP FOLDING AND HOLDING THE AMAZING JAPANESE PAPER ART"

Statue of Sadako Sasaki in Hiroshima Peace Park. She is holding Origami crane in her hand.

Sadako’s Story of Hope and Peace

On August 6, 1945, the people of Hiroshima, Japan, woke up like any other day. The world was at war. People were worried but also full of hope that the war would end soon. Everyone wished for peace.

But something terrible happened that day.

For the first time ever in history, an atomic bomb was dropped on a city. It was small in size but so powerful that it destroyed almost everything around it. Thousands of people died in an instant. Many more were badly burned or injured. Some became blind; some could never walk again. Even children born many years later suffered from its effects.

This disaster reminded the whole world how precious friendship, kindness, and peace are.

At that time, there was a little girl named Sadako Sasaki, just two years old when the bomb fell. Luckily, she survived. Sadako grew up to be a cheerful and lively girl. She loved to run and play with her friends. She dreamed of becoming the fastest runner in her school. Everyone thought she would be chosen for the Junior High relay team; and she was so excited about it!

But then something unexpected happened.

One morning, while practicing for her race, Sadako suddenly felt very dizzy. She fell to the ground. Her teachers rushed her to the hospital. After many tests, the doctors gave her very sad news; Sadako had leukemia, a type of cancer caused by the atomic bomb’s radiation. Sadako was shocked. She knew this illness was dangerous, and most people did not survive it. That night, she cried and cried.

The next day, her best friend Chizuko came to visit her in the hospital. Chizuko brought some beautiful, colorful origami papers. She folded one of them into a lovely paper crane and gave it to Sadako.

“Do you know the legend of the thousand paper cranes?” Chizuko said. “If you fold a thousand paper cranes, the gods will grant your wish; any wish you want!”

Sadako smiled. She wanted only one thing: to get well and live.

So she started folding paper cranes. With each crane, she wished to be healthy again. She folded carefully, lovingly, hoping her dream would come true.

But while staying in the hospital, Sadako saw many other sick children like her. Slowly, her wish changed. Now she didn’t wish only for herself; she wanted peace in the world. She wanted no child to ever suffer because of war or bombs.

Sadako kept folding cranes; one after another. With every crane, her wish for world peace grew stronger. But before she could reach her goal of 1,000 cranes, Sadako passed away. She had made 644 paper cranes.

When her friends and classmates heard this, they folded the remaining 356 cranes and buried all 1,000 cranes with Sadako.

In memory of Sadako and all the innocent children lost because of war, a beautiful statue of Sadako now stands in Hiroshima Peace Park. Thousands of children from all over Japan and the world helped to build this statue.

Even today, on August 6th every year, children from many countries send colorful paper cranes to Hiroshima as a symbol of hope, love, and peace.

So why not start today?
Let’s learn to fold origami cranes.
Let’s join Sadako’s dream for a peaceful world.
Let’s help make the Earth a better, kinder, and safer place for everyone!