Children at US School Show Their Support for Victims in Japan
[MP3]https://server1.vnkienthuc.com/files/3/Media/se-ed-japan-us-children-31mar11.mp3[/MP3]
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Cranes are large birds with long legs and [A]necks[/A]. In Japan and other East Asian cultures, they [A]represent[/A] luck and long life.
Japanese tradition says a person who folds one thousand [A]paper cranes [/A]gets the right to make a wish. Some schoolchildren in the United States have been folding cranes. They want to show they care about the victims of the March eleventh [A]earthquake[/A] and tsunami in Japan.
Almost forty Japanese-American students attend Somerville Elementary School in Ridgewood, New Jersey. But all five hundred twenty-five [A]students[/A] at the school have heard about the[A] disasters[/A]. So they have decorated their school with paper origami cranes. Their wish is for a [A]speedy[/A] recovery for the Japanese people.
Art teacher Samantha Stankiewicz says the activity gives students a way to express [A]empathy[/A] for victims.
SAMANTHA STANKIEWICZ: "For children, the folding of the cranes has been a really [A]positive[/A] way for them to feel like they're actively [A]engaged[/A], even though the cranes are symbolic."
These students thought out loud as they folded cranes in the school library.
BOY: "The crane is a [A]symbol[/A] of hope, so we try to have a lot of hope for those people in Japan."
GIRL: "It makes me feel really happy that everyone's caring for [A]another country[/A]."
GIRL: "I feel sad for them, like really sad for them. But I also feel happy for us, because we are really trying to help out."
And that help is not just in the form of paper cranes. The school [A]principal[/A], Lorna Oates-Santos, says children at Somerville Elementary have raised about two thousand dollars for [A]disaster[/A] relief agencies.
LORNA OATES-SANTOS: "We will be [A]donating[/A] that money to the American Red Cross and Save the Children. They are two groups that are ready on the ground in Japan to help the people of Japan."
The school has a television club that [A]produces[/A] weekly programs on different subjects. Fourth-grade teacher Gabrielle King is director of the club, and says the students are involved in the school's efforts.
GABRIELLE KING: "When the [A]earthquake[/A] happened, the children wanted to know what they could do to [A]inform[/A] other students and raise awareness for the people in Japan. So, we [A]decided[/A] to do a show on the earthquake, and to also making the cranes, the origami cranes."
Some American children have shown their [A]feelings[/A] for the victims in Japan in other ways. Yasuhisa Kawamura is Japan's deputy consul general in New York.
YASUHISA KAWAMURA: "One American young girl dropped by the consulate a couple days ago with her own painting. The painting shows the two countries, Japan and the United States, [A]shaking hands[/A] over the ocean, and saying 'We are with you.' So, we are very, very moved and touched by this young girl's [A]expression[/A]."
