WHY WE FORMED

Thousand Cranes was founded in memory of Keiko Williams, who passed away May 1, 2012 after losing a heroic battle against ovarian cancer and had been a survivor of human trafficking as a young woman in Japan. She was “rescued” from this horrible situation and was brought to the United States by a Navy sailor who then married her. She enrolled in night school to learn English, obtained U.S. citizenship and thoroughly embraced her new country and culture.

Adopting the spirit of a true American, Keiko was never a victim again in her life. Exercising mind over matter, she took on two jobs while she put her husband through school, overcame smoking in one day after hearing that a friend died of lung cancer from smoking, and she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and underwent surgery to beat it.

Throughout her years she would make origami paper cranes and build a beautiful cascade of a thousand of them and present them to friends and family who were hospitalized or going through cancer. This practice is based on a Japanese story/legend (Senbazuru) about a little girl who believed that if you made a thousand cranes for someone who is ill that your prayers for their recovery would come true.

In late 2010, Keiko was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. She went through several rounds of chemotherapy and surgery and was in remission for about 9 months before it came back with a vengeance. It was only fitting that her grandchildren presented a thousand cranes as a tribute while she was undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.

Her daughter received one of her rings as an inheritance and it formed the initial seed money to establish this foundation in her memory.

The work this organization hopes to accomplish will be executed in service to the Lord and as a continuing legacy in memory of Keiko.