INCREDIBLE — that was the reaction to a fundraising campaign spearheaded by a Gunnislake resident determined to help people affected by the earthquake and tsunami in her home land of Japan, writes Jane Honey.

Tamami Benjamin staged a jumble sale and sushi event at Milton Abbot School last Friday, and a music and bring and share supper in the village hall on Saturday, at which a tower was made of 1,000 origami paper cranes.

Tamami said: 'The support was incredible — just thinking how many people came and the atmosphere of the village hall on Saturday, makes me cry!'

The sale on Friday made an incredible £1,078.93 — far more than she expected to raise in just three hours.

She said: 'The Saturday event was beautiful.  We must have had about 200 people in total including people who just dropped in for a short time to give me donations and some people came in just to make one paper crane.'

'The night had a very strong sense of community and lots of people came to me during the evening and said thank you for offering this opportunity to be able to connect with Japanese people.'

The tower of 1,000 cranes is called senbazuru in Japanese and originates from Hiroshima in Japan, when a child previously ill from the effects of the atomic bomb made a miraculous recovery when the local community made him 1,000 paper cranes.

The tower is now hanging at Milton Abbot Church and can be seen for the next month. The church is open 8am to 4pm every day.

The event on Saturday raised £1,0001 — the total raised by Tamami and her husband since the earthquake struck is £2,074.93. Tamami said: 'I have been researching the best way to utilize this precious donation and have been closely communicating with my Japanese friends who have up-to-date information about what's happening over there.  

'One of my very good friends introduced me to this Japanese doctor who works at Tohoku International Clinic, one of the rare hospitals which survived in Miyagi prefecture where tsunami's damage was one of the worst.  

'I felt deeply touched by the work they have been offering to the survivors through general care at the clinic as well as regular visits to evacuation centres, listening and helping with survivors' physical and psychological needs, even organizing a football team and tournament with children who have lost their home and parents, to bring back some of their emotions.'

Tamami will be sending the money she raised to the clinic —regular reports from the doctors at the clinic can be seen at http://www.stage-earth.ca">http://www.stage-earth.ca

She would like to say a huge thank you to everyone, organisations and individuals, who has made donations and supported her so generously.