ORIZURU PROJECT
A thousand cranes can change the world.
Each person who receives care folds a single crane; together they are gathered into a thousand and carried to causes around the world. A circular project born from the care and welfare front lines.
THE GAP
Three divides
Between the wish to help and the people who need it, there are gaps still waiting to be crossed.
Work in welfare settings
Workplaces exist, yet work that brings pride and a real sense of connection to society remains hard to reach. The path from skill to fair pay is still narrow.
People support struggles to reach
Those living with intractable illness or cancer; children facing disaster or poverty. Some still slip through the gaps in the safety net.
Goodwill with nowhere to go
The honest wish to be of help to someone too often loses its way, never meeting a destination it can trust.
OUR BELIEF
Care is goodwill, gathered
We want to take the goodwill built up on the front lines of care and let it circulate out into the world.
Until now
As the one being supported
Care has been seen as something you receive ── days spent leaning on the hands of others.
From here
As one who supports the world
Folding a crane and sending a message, by one's own will. People who have received care become the ones giving back to the world.
Older adults, people with disabilities, people on public assistance, people living with intractable illness, and children without parents ── everyone who needs care connects with the world through a single crane.
THE SOLUTION
Fold, gather, deliver
From a single crane to the wider world. ORIZURU links the front lines of care with the causes it supports, through a thousand cranes.
01Fold
On the front lines of care, each person folds a crane with heart. Those who fold are paid fairly. The act of making has its reward.
02Gather
One crane, then another. Individual hopes are gathered into a thousand cranes ── one larger message.
03Deliver
The finished cranes are delivered to causes around the world, free of charge ── carrying encouragement from the world along with them.
04Into the next cycle
Each turn gives rise to the next act of support. Stories from where the cranes arrived return to the front lines, and new cranes are folded again.
THE MODEL
Donation that circulates
With ORIZURU at the center, the front lines, donors, and the world's causes connect in a single circle.
Care front lines
Fold cranes and receive fair pay
Donors
Support the cranes' journey through giving
World's causes
Receive the cranes and encouragement, free of charge
Making is paid; delivering to the world is free. Each turn gives rise to the next act of support.
THE ORDER OF CARE
The order we protect
Support begins with those closest. We make sure of the ground beneath our feet, then widen the circle out to the world.
- 01
The person themselves
First, we protect the independence and pride of the person who folds.
- 02
Family
Toward peace of mind for the family who has supported them, drawing the next step together.
- 03
Care staff
We build a structure in which those who walk alongside on the front lines are rewarded.
- 04
World's causes
Beyond that nearby peace of mind, we deliver the cranes to the world.
We end the worry of life after parents are gone through the person's own independence. We choose a future in which people reach out to the world themselves ── not one of depending on others without end.
WHERE IT GOES
Where the cranes go
Along with the cranes, we deliver encouragement from the world, free of charge.
Support for children
For children facing hardship. Not as those waiting to be saved, but as people choosing their own future, we cheer their steps onward.
Help with treatment costs
For people living with intractable illness or cancer. We add the hope of a thousand cranes to the strength to keep treatment going.
Disaster relief
Once the balance is steady. We widen the circle to regions struck by hardship.
DIGNITY & SAFEGUARDING
Dignity, and earned trust
Sharing always begins with the person's own choice. We set out our promise to protect that dignity from the very start.
Sharing is the person's choice
Whether to share with the world is decided by the person. It is never tied to the conditions of housing or care.
Likeness, and the freedom to withdraw
Use of a person's likeness requires their consent, and we guarantee the freedom to withdraw it at any time.
Special consideration
For minors and for those whose capacity to decide is limited, we provide special consideration and procedures.
JOIN THE CIRCLE
Your support becomes a thousand cranes for the world
Your donation supports the journey of a single crane toward the world. To begin, sign up for news from the project.
Get news from the project
We will send milestones by email ── such as the public launch and the start of donations.