A Thousand Paper Cranes — The Accidental Ally 2024 Roadmap
I read 52 books in 2023. One of the last books I read in 2023 was ‘Sadako and a Thousand Paper Cranes.’ A few days ago, I found myself in a used book store called, ‘Recycle Books.’ I was wandering down the aisles of books, thinking about the randomness of their placement and the oddity of my presence in that store. This tiny book popped on the Fiction shelf. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a story of a 12-year-old girl who died of Leukemia, the “atom bomb disease” from the effects of the Hiroshima bombings.
Sadako’s story
She was a bright young girl with many aspirations. She wanted to run for her relay team at school and practiced day and night to win a race for her team. After she fell ill, she was in the hospital when, one day, her best friend stopped by with a large gold paper crane. She told Sadako about the Japanese spiritual belief that paper cranes signify hope and perseverance. She said that anyone who makes 1000 paper cranes gets a wish granted. Sadako died after making 644 cranes. But her classmates, friends, and strangers made the remaining 356 cranes. She was buried with her 1000 cranes. Many years later, a statue of Sadako was erected at the Hiroshima Memorial Park. To this day, visitors leave paper cranes at her statue to celebrate her outlook on life, even through her endless suffering. Sadako died at 12. This story pierced my heart.
Making 1000 paper cranes in 2024
It is a pure coincidence that I love origami, and the paper crane was one of the first things I learned how to make. A few days ago, I was conversing with my kids about hobbies. I declared I would revive my love for Origami and start making paper cranes again. I made a few paper cranes and left them on the kitchen counter. After reading this book, I decided to make 1000 paper cranes this year in honor of Sadako. It is also a coincidence that this book was published in August 1977, the month and year of my birth. I am close to 250 cranes at the moment. My son has been timing my speed, and it has gone from 3.50 mins to 2 mins per crane. But I plan to take my time with my cranes as it is deeply meditative to make each crane with precision.
1000 paper cranes and our work at The Accidental Ally
Thanks to Sadako, the act of folding 1000 paper cranes has since become a symbol of hope, healing, and peace. It has been adopted as a gesture of solidarity and a wish for a better future, peace, awareness, and positive change. I believe our work at the Accidental Ally is to bring about the need for positive change in the area of disability employment, particularly the employment, financial stability, and well-being of individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
2023 was a year of many accomplishments
The ground we covered is a reflection of the hard work of this team. Remember that at the beginning of 2023, they had yet to have any exposure to this work, the tools, the domains. We shattered every expectation and misconception about their ability to acquire new skills in these areas that have typically been off-limits for them. It is because of their desire and willingness to learn that we were able to make it thus far.
Here are some notable accomplishments by the team -
- Rojene and Laith won an Inclusive Beauty Hackathon Prize (Estee Lauder).
- Rojene passed the Web Accessibility Certification (CPACC) exam and scored exciting Marketing freelance projects. She also runs social media for The Accidental Ally!
- Michael became an #Xbox Ambassador and helped relaunch our #YouTube channel with engaging #youtubeshorts. Michael will speak about his work at the CSUN Accessibility Conference in Anaheim in March 2024!
- Laith launched his own podcast, developed and taught #Animation, and scored a freelance project to do video editing.
- Rohan aced the year with his dedication to his prep for the CPACC exam, his ongoing work on #webaccessibility and software testing, and his work as my Executive Admin, holding it all together like a champ. Rohan will speak about his work at the CSUN Accessibility Conference in Anaheim in March 2024!
- We participated in a gaming research study, launched our own Medium publication, enjoyed our first public appearance as presenters at a Bay Area A11Y event, presented our work to a group of high schoolers, hosted several roundtable conversations on LinkedIn, spoke at several notable events and attended conferences.
Marketable Skills acquired —
- Social Media Management, Demand Gen and CRM, Software Testing, Web Accessibility, Gaming Accessibility, Video and Podcast editing — to name a few.
Tools learned —
- All things AI — We LOVE all things AI — Chatgpt, Bard, Bing, Canva AI, Grammarly, Flickr, Linkedin AI, Momento AI, Dall-E, Zoom AI, Engage AI hashtags, Chatpdf.
- Productivity Tools — We actively use all of these tools to do our work — Slack, Canva, Loom, Zoom, Asana, Google Suite, Allego, and Miro.
- Social Media — We did projects on the following platforms — Linkedin, Medium, Instagram, Youtube, and Buffer, using Gen AI for content creation.
The biggest accomplishment of all is developing a strong sense of self-worth, as evidenced by these lovely moments captured during the year.
I was told (repeatedly) that this can’t be done- that People with cognitive and intellectual disabilities cannot learn marketable skills and get mainstream jobs.
We proved them wrong. So that makes me wonder,
Why do we believe what anyone tells us? Why don’t we follow our instincts to the next big challenge?
What’s next? Exploring the Why’s of our business
Simon Sinek says,
People don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it.
We want to continue to explore the following WHYs in 2024.
Why is a Paradigm Shift needed in the disability landscape?
Our Why — At The Accidental Ally, we exist to lead a paradigm shift in the disability employment landscape.
The How — We want to create a blueprint that goes beyond conventional job creation for individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities. We aim to be a catalyst for developing self-worth and personal identity among individuals with cognitive and intellectual disability. We do this by empowering them with the opportunities to acquire marketable skills through hands-on, project-based learning in a collaborative, real-world, team-based environment. We partner with the right employers to collaboratively create the right employment opportunities through our unique execution models of work programs, internships, and incubators within these companies. We are involved every step of the way to ensure a true win-win for everyone!
Why focus on individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities?
Our Why — Our focus is empowering individuals with cognitive and intellectual abilities to challenge societal norms and preconceived notions about what they can or cannot do. We want to encourage them to dream big and aspire to do more with their lives.
The How — We have created an inclusive and unique learning environment (at no cost to them) to learn new domains and marketable skills. We facilitate learning based on inherent abilities, learning styles, and capabilities. We promote hands-on learning in a real-world work environment. After all, everyone acquires their most marketable skills by learning on the job. Why would it be any different for these individuals?
Why connect the contributions of individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities to tangible business value?
Our Why — We want to deliver a transformative shift, not just bring about change, and enable innovation by enabling employers to derive inspiration from the perspective of extreme users such as people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities. By drawing inspiration from this group of extreme users, we want to challenge conventional thinking and encourage an evolved way of looking at human needs and capabilities. We want to carve a unique space for people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities to contribute to the next wave of innovation in the digital landscape.
The How — We connect with employers who want to invest in their potential. We work with employers to connect the unique contributions of these individuals to tangible business value, delivering not just change but a transformational shift. We are not interested in facilitating altruism; we want to deliver business value to prove that people with disabilities can generate and contribute to business value.
Why shift the narrative from disability to discovering abilities?
Our Why — We want to shift the narrative from a focus on the disability to a focus on discovering inherent abilities because we believe that people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities are a huge, untapped talent pool ready to be explored and add tremendous value to your business. We also believe the next wave of innovation will come from these individuals and their unique abilities.
The How — With our unique execution model, we aim to redefine not only professional opportunities but also address the essence of personal fulfillment and societal inclusion.
Sadako’s 1000 Paper Cranes and The Accidental Ally
Sadako’s story of folding 1000 paper cranes resonates deeply with our mission.
Resilience and determination
Every individual on our team has endured a tremendous amount of adversity from the day they were born. I am deeply committed to empowering these individuals to dream big, take action toward their dreams, and aspire to do more with their lives, just as Sadako aspired to do in her short time on this planet.
Individual Empowerment
We know the tremendous impact of our work on the lives of these individuals. We have fostered a growth mindset for both the individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities and their families. We have taken proactive steps towards realizing their potential; we have worked with several employers who have been blown away by the tremendous potential these individuals possess, mirroring in so many ways what Sadako exemplified with her positive spirit at such a young age.
Collective Impact
The symbolism of Sadako’s paper cranes mirrors our commitment to a collective and transformative shift. By recognizing the untapped potential within the community of individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, we aim for a broader impact on society’s expectations of them. We hope and aspire to become a source of transformation, much like Sadako’s cranes, which became a symbol of peace and hope.
Narrative Shift
Sadako’s story inspires us to shift our narrative. She refused to be the sad little girl who died of Leukemia. She was a beacon of hope till the very end. Sadako focused on healing and peace. We want to focus on the shift from disability to discovering inherent abilities and transforming the narrative around cognitive and intellectual disabilities. Every human being deserves to feel a sense of self worth and a sense of purpose in their lifetime.
Exploring possibilities
Sadako’s crane is a symbol of hope and possibility. With our work, we seek to demonstrate that individuals with cognitive and intellectual disabilities possess unique talents and perspectives that can contribute significantly to innovation and our progress as a society.
How can YOU become an ally — a call to action
I want to ask for your help.
Engage with our mission.
We invite you to actively engage with our mission by learning more about the stories of individuals with cognitive disabilities on our team and their many accomplishments and understanding the transformative effect we have started to achieve. We ask for your help sharing these stories with your family, friends, team, company, and network to amplify the message of empowerment and inclusion.
Support Innovation
Consider supporting our initiatives by introducing us to people in your organizations who are interested in investing in the potential of this untapped talent pool, by providing mentorship, or by collaborating in creating innovative solutions that benefit individuals with cognitive disabilities. Your involvement as a strong ally and a catalyst for this transformative shift is a testament to the power of collective action.
Shift the narrative
Join us in shifting the narrative for Rohan, Rojene, Laith, Michael, Sabrina, Roan, Madison, Ashvik, Dashiell, and thousands of others like them who want to be seen and heard and who want to contribute in meaningful ways. They want to run the relay like Sadako did. She wanted to be someone who achieved something.
I am currently folding crane number two hundred and something. I stopped counting them because it doesn’t matter how many cranes I make; what matters is that I am making one paper crane at a time, with great love and devotion. That is how I view my work; it is about helping one person, one day at a time, with great love and devotion.
Before we know it, a thousand paper cranes will be ready to take flight!
I wish you a Joyous, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year! I appreciate your support of our work in small and big ways.
Love and Light,
Gayatri
P.S. Tell us how we are doing, tell us what we can do better! We want to hear from you!
