A Fife schoolgirl’s imaginative endeavour to help the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami has captured the attention of broadcaster and comedian Stephen Fry.
The prolific Twitter user tweeted about Esther Bowman’s attempt to make 1300 paper cranes.
The year 10 pupil of St Leonards School, St Andrews, began the challenge to honour the victims and raise money for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
It was not clear how Fry had heard about it but he wrote, “I love the human race. ‘Crane folding for Japan’. Sounds so daft, but is actually rather beautiful.”
With over 2.3 million followers, his link to Esther’s JustGiving web page led to a surge in donations.
Esther, of Strathkinness, chose to make 1300 cranes as that was the number of people estimated to have died when she began.
She said, “I thought origami cranes symbolised and represented Japan and the sheer number of people who had died in a way people here in Scotland could understand.”
Esther has long been fascinated by the country and is a big fan of manga and anime, Japanese comics and animation.
She said, “I’ve come to love the culture and was devastated when the earthquake hit. The fact that Japan is so meticulous in its planning, and yet was helpless to save so many, moved me to do something.”
With the help of her sister Ellen and friends Kirsty Black, Fiona Knight and Fiona Powrie, she hopes to complete the challenge by April 5.
Esther said, “When I started this challenge, I couldn’t really comprehend the number of people who had died, but after making only 280 cranes I began to get an idea of the scale.
“I’d like to raise as much money as possible to help people who still need rescuing. At the end I’m going to try and set up an event, so that everyone can see just how many cranes there are.”For more information and to donate, visit www.justgiving.com/Esther-Bowman