Christ School celebrates Peace Festival to commemorate Hiroshima Day

Kids get together to build 18-feet tall Sadakos Peace Crane

Bangalore, August 6: Christ School kids observed

Hiroshima Day as part of a Peace Festival in memory of the nearly 1.29 lac Japanese victims of two atomic bombs during the only atomic warfare in history in the second world war.

The Peace Festival was organized at Christ School in association with John Devaraj, Founder, Born Free Art School for the Slum Children and Kishore Joseph, director, Breathe Entertainment,  and social activist.

Led by Rev. Fr. Domnic Nattunilath, Principal Christ School ISCE, the students built a 18-feet tall Peace Crane named after Sadako, a two-year old Japanese from Hiroshima, killed by the atomic bomb. The story goes that Sadako, already dying of Leukamia, thought she could survive if she built a 1000 paper cranes, though she died after she had built 1200 of them. Thus she went on to become a symbol of world peace.

Helped by John Devaraj, a self-confessed peacenik and well known sculptor, the students of Christ School made the Sadako crane made of RCC structure and home materials such as blade, scissors, knife, paper brought by the children. To ensure a spirit of participation, every student was required to bring in a shovel of cement and play a hand in the creation of the crane.

Six Japanese nationals were also part of the Peace Festival and trained the students in the singing of the World Peace songs.

The highlight of the Festival was the students interacting with a Japanese survivor in Ground Zero, i.e. at the site of the Hiroshima bombing, through Skype.

The Christ School students were also guided by John Devaraj to paint messages commemorating the Guernica Bombing, after acquainting them with the horrors of the Nazi attack on Spain in 1937, during when, 1654 civilians lost their lives.

“We involve young children in fund-raising programmes in theatre, music, dance, painting, sculpture, and creating public monuments celebrating peace, under the banner of Born Free, a NGO, to support the education of under-privileged children,” said John Devaraj.

Fr. Domnic said, Christ School encourages its students not only to excel in academics, but also in art activities like clay modeling and sculpture building, which can be practiced for self -healing and social healing.

Kishore Joseph,  said young students are the best communicators and messengers of peace, as their fertile minds are free of clutter and prejudice.

The Peace Festival concluded with the launch of Peace Rocket – a workshop on how to create wealth from waste.