One year after the devastating Maui fires, 20 Kamehameha Schools students volunteered at a remembrance luncheon to offer support and serve the impacted families of Kula.
Over 300 people attended the Upcountry Aloha Luncheon on August 8, 2024, featuring food, services and activities aimed at helping those in need. Invited by their kumu and coaches, KS Maui student-athletes and leaders transformed the difficult anniversary into a day of community service. From handing out bentos and bussing tables to chatting with attendees, their presence was a gesture of solidarity with those still recovering.
Senior Olamana Demello-Tolentino worked alongside his classmates, helping wherever needed.
“You could see that people were really happy and appreciative that we were there,” Demello-Tolentino said. “It felt good helping people.”
KS Maui haumāna serve food at Upcountry Aloha Luncheon.
KS Maui haumāna serve food at Upcountry Aloha Luncheon.
For fellow senior Amaya Mori, the event hit closer to home. While perusing the resource booths, she stopped at a tree-planting station to aid revegetation in the future. When the people at the booth asked Mori to whom she wanted to dedicate her seeds, the Wailuku girl became emotional as she thought of her grandmother, Sweetheart, who had lost her home in the fire.
Mori spent most of her childhood at her grandparents’ house in Kula. She had just slept over the night before the fires, not knowing that would be her last time there. Over the last year, her ‘ohana has been working to repair her aunty’s nearby cottage, one of the few structures spared in the neighborhood. Amidst the chaos and stress, Mori found great comfort in her school, calling KS her second family.
KS Maui haumāna and limahana (from left to right) Emily Sloper, Kaylee Amaral KSM'10, Vanessa Ching, David Takahama and Amaya Mori volunteered at the Upcountry Aloha Luncheon.
KS Maui haumāna and limahana (from left to right) Emily Sloper, Kaylee Amaral KSM'10, Vanessa Ching, David Takahama and Amaya Mori volunteered at the Upcountry Aloha Luncheon.
“When we got back, I felt so loved and everyone was there for me and my family,” Mori said. “They made me feel like I wasn’t alone.”
KS Maui Dean of Students Kaylee Amaral KSM’09 said it was special to see the students serving not just at the luncheon but also in other ways since the tragedy. From uniform drives and food donations to temporarily housing their peers, the students of the ʻAʻapueo campus epitomize ʻōiwi leadership every time they step up to support their classmates.
“As a dean, school counselor and an alumnus of this school, it makes me very proud to see that we’re instilling ʻōiwi leadership into our students,” Amaral continued. “They have that pilina to their lāhui so that when they see a need, they fulfill it.”
TAGS
maui campus,ks maui,maui,hoʻōla maui,alakaʻi lawelawe,student athletes,student leadership
CATEGORIES
Kaipuolono Article, Regions, Maui, Moloka’i and Lana’i, Themes, Culture, Community, KS Announcements, Maui Newsroom, KS Maui Home, Community service/volunteer opportunities, Newsroom, Maui, Community Events, Alumni, Maui, Oiwi Leaders, Ho‘ōla Maui, Maui campus
Print with photos
Print text only
