WAIMEA — Some 13 Westside students, including two from Ni‘ihau, had an opportunity to view the fruits of their summer labor recently when a premiere of their video was presented to a small group of invited guests at Waimea Theater.
“Kawaiola ‘o Waimea,” or the life-giving waters of Waimea, was the product that developed under the hands of the youngsters, who range from middle-school students to high-school graduates.
Working under the Kula Nali‘i program, funded under a federal grant, the project emerged as part of a Native Hawaiian, community-based education program under Kimo Chun.
Centered totally around Waimea, the students worked in facilities provided by the West Kaua‘i Technology & Visitors Center and the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center, primarily utilizing the computer and video lab located across the Waimea fire station, where the project took shade.
“We had to learn how to operate the equipment, about lighting and audio,” said Lynnell Wright, one of the program’s students.
“Then we had to develop the outline, write the script, do research,” she continued, as Logan Ka‘aihue, another of the project’s students, interjected with snickers, recollecting the days spent pulling the project together.
The group of 13 students divided into three groups which each had a segment of responsibility, and armed with video and audio equipment set out to capture clips and begin the interview process for their film.
Wright and Ka‘aihue’s group had the responsibility of doing rivers, streams, and ditches, and in the process of pulling their segment together, Wright said, “We learned a lot about Hawaiian history, and Waimea’s history, through interviewing people.”
Taro farmer Joe Manini was one of those interviewed, and he provided the local history, while Aletha Kaohi of the West Kaua‘i Technology & Visitors Center added more Hawaiiana, talking about the different names of the winds that swirl through Waimea town, the mountains that prevent some of the rains from nourishing the parched ground, and how the ancient peoples utilized the streams and tributaries that form the Waimea River.
Don Heacock, aquatic biologist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources, provided the scientific insight into the video that incorporated all of these aspects into a central theme of how Waimea evolved as a thriving population center by incorporating all of these aspects.
Johnella Basa-Pereira, another of the project’s students, served as hostess for the film, with clips of some of the other students interspersed throughout the production, their presence extracting giggles and laughter from the audience as they appeared on screen.
Basa-Pereira takes the viewer through a journey that begins with the falling of the u‘a (rain) as the arrival of water, and through the 30-minute journey effectively melds the cultural, historical, and scientific aspects of Waimea lifestyle, ending at the mouth of Waimea River where the freshwater’s journey ends.
Following the airing of the 30-minute production on the big screen of Waimea Theater, the sense of pride that welled in the hearts of the attending parents and relatives of the students was obvious, the grandmother of Basa-Pereira making sure the reporter spells her granddaughter’s name correct.
Nathan Kalama and Nani Rogers of the Kaua‘i Mokihana Festival were two of the guests in attendance, and Kalama noted that festival organizers wanted to coordinate the premiere of this video as part of the week-long celebration, but it didn’t matter that the event occurred following the final day of the Mokihana Festival.
Kalama presented a check of $500 to Chun as a way of supporting the project.
Chun said the true sense of community came through, as the project got support from not only the West Kaua‘i Technology & Visitors Center and QLCC, but also the West Kaua‘i Business Association and Waimea Theater, whose representatives allowed the special viewing.
The support extended into his own ‘ohana, Chun explained, and from the spirit of the program’s instructors, Chris Kauwe, Kimo Perry and himself.
Support also came in the form of guest lecturers from O‘ahu and the Big Island, who came to Waimea to talk with the students during the three-day-a-week, four-week course.
Students who were in the program included Wright, Ka‘aihue, Basa-Pereira, Sarah A‘ana, Kolonahe Arquette, John Karratti, Michael Nizo, William Nizo, Shannon Kelley, Chelsea Lynne Kanahele, Jennalyn Beniamina, Loke McGihon and Shawn Kanahele.
“It was a lot of hard work,” Wright said of the program that met for five hours a day.
“But, it was worth it,” Ka‘aihue added.
Chun noted that the video is a tangible product of the students’ accomplishments over the summer program, but the learning, pride, coming together, and learning to work together cannot be measured.
“They will re-live this moment when they view it 50 years from now,” Chun said.
For copies of the video, people may contact Chun at 245-8354.
Staff Writer Dennis Fujimoto may be reached at dfujimoto@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 253).
