Some of the squares bear messages such as "hold on" or "you're not alone." Some have signatures, handprints and images of hope. Many bear the maple leaf or the Japanese flag. The pieces of cloth are works of art produced by local youth. They are sewn together to make a quilt, a cloth-letter to Japanese children that has been unveiled in Onagawa, a small village on the north coast of Japan, on Canada Day.
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit Onagawa mid-afternoon when the children were in school or in daycare. Linda Omaha, a Vancouver documentary filmmaker, heard from a friend that her young daughter wouldn't stop imitating the noises of things crashing to the ground. That was when Omaha decided to start the Kids for Kids Quilt project, an initiative to show that youth in British Columbia care about their peers on the other side of the Pacific. The project grew as children from southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, Manitoba and southern Ontario joined in.
April Bosshard, a friend of Omaha's, brought the Kids for Kids Quilt project to Bowen and got four Island schools involved: BICS, the Island Discovery Centre, the Montessori school and IPS. "We made about 70 or 80 squares," she says. "I can't imagine what it will look like when all the pieces will be sewn together."
Saffron Gurney was one of the local coordinators. "I worked with 12 students from BICS who are part of the Serious Play after school care. Part of the curriculum is connecting kids through art that can be seen globally and can make a positive impact. So it was a perfect fit when April approached me to help with the project. We had many different age groups. In my group, I had kids from Kindergarten to Grade 5. And the whole Bowen group who made the quilt had youth from age three to 15. I like the idea of our island helping another island."
May Cooper's square shows a cherry tree, a couple of people holding hands, and the words "we love you". The 14-year-old Bowen Islander said, "Working in fabric art was pretty new for me. I like details so I usually draw on paper and have just completed a painting on canvas." In addition to being an accomplished visual artist, musician and writer, she is also an activist. She said, "I was very enthusiastic about the project because I am passionate about helping people. One of my projects is to bring awareness to the planet. I have the feeling that the earth is trying to tell us something with the earthquakes and disasters."
Bosshard summed her experience up like this, "That it was created, means a lot. When the children were engaged in it, it felt ordinary, like another art project. It struck me that something ordinary can become extraordinary."
