Morning light floods in to the busy classroom at the Tyre Community School highlighting the brightly coloured squares of paper scattered on each desk. A sense of alert concentration fills the air as Origami expert, Seiko Hatakeyama, shows the young students how to fold a single piece of paper in a specific order to create beautiful sculptures. A rabbit, a dog, a dragon, a frog – it's like magic!

This lesson is part of a series of Origami learning sessions organised by UNIFIL's Civil Affairs office in cooperation with All-One, an association promoting Japanese culture in Lebanon.

Origami is derived from two Japanese words – "Ori" (folded) and "Kami" (paper). Folding paper is a type of art therapy as it strengthens the muscles of the hands, helping children develop fine motor skills. It has also been linked to developing mathematical skills. Late American mathematician and physicist Martin David Kruskal belived "Origami helps in the study of mathematics and science in many ways. Using origami anyone can become a scientific experimenter with no fuss."

"The main purpose of the workshop is to enhance the children's capabilities and creativity through folding papers in different shapes," UNIFIL's Civil Affairs officer Habib Aziz says as he watches the children's faces light up as they transform their squares of paper into a piano, a cat and a windmill. Magic!

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Article: Aoibheann O'Sullivan
Video Editor: Suzane Badereddine
Video Camera: Mohamad Hamze
Photo: Pascual Gorriz Marcos
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