WINNIPEG -- A Manitoba temple is finding a new way to promote hope, peace and understanding in the city.
The Manitoba Buddhist Temple is asking people in the province to help it make 1000 origami cranes.
Tanis Moore, a Sensei at the temple and one of the organizers of the initiative, said the idea was sparked by a group doing something similar in the U.S.
"When I saw what they were doing, and I saw what was going on with the Black Lives Matter and the Indigenous population in Winnipeg, it just seemed like a great thing to do," Moore said.
Moore said the plan is to display the cranes around the city to promote peace, hope and understanding.
Moore said the tradition of the 1000 cranes comes fromthe story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who was exposed to the effects of an atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during the Second World War.
The young girl developed leukemia at age 12, and after spending a significant amount of time in a hospital, began making origami cranes.
That tradition has been carried on.
"Every year when we have memorial service for the bombings, there is always someone showing people how to make cranes," said Moore.
"The idea is to bring hope to people and lighten up their lives."
Anyone who is interested in participating is invited to mail in their origami cranes. More information about the initiative can be found on the Manitoba Buddhist Temple website and Facebook page.
