One teenager’s passion for folding paper has quickly turned into a symbol of good health for the community.
A massive mobile created by Elyse Rogers, 13, of Rindge, is currently on exhibit at the Jaffrey Civic Center. What makes this mobile so special is the 1,000 origami cranes hanging from it.
“One thousand cranes signifies good health in Japan,” said Rogers, who created the project in honor of Samantha DuBois, who is currently battling leukemia. “They felt a little more meaningful to create because it was for someone I care about.”
Rogers said she has been doing origami since she was introduced to it in third grade during a presentation about Japan. From that moment, Rogers’ love of origami and other pieces of Japanese culture grew.
“It varies on how much anime my parents let me watch,” said Rogers, who said she typically does origami to keep her hands busy while watching her favorite anime shows. “I like to multi-task.”
Rogers had been folding cranes for a while just for fun before she had heard of DuBois’ condition, but decided to commit to 1,000 cranes in the hope that she good bring good health to DuBois, who is currently at Boston Children’s hospital.
“I have given origami to people before, but I have never made anything this big,” said Rogers, of the project she dubbed “Kenkō for Sammy,” with kenkō meaning good health in Japanese. “I usually get bored with larger projects, so this was a pretty interesting turn of events.”
DuBois has yet to see the mobile, according to Rogers, but she hopes that it is something that will lift her spirits.
“It makes me feel really special,” said Rogers. “I’m happy to create something that may give someone hope, a good luck charm to get better.”
Rogers’ mother Helene said that eventually the piece may be moved from the Civic Center to the children’s lobby at Monadnock Community Hospital.
“I’m definitely excited for her to see it,” said Rogers. “Overall, I’m excited for it to go to the hospital.”
After investing six months of her time into the project, Rogers said she probably won’t create any other large-scale projects for a while.
“I like folding things that are tricky,” said Rogers. “It’s just a great hobby to keep me moving.