PUHI — While some argue the aloha spirit is dead even in Hawai‘i and on Kaua‘i, don’t try that line on Denise Tripoli. She heard stories of aloha, about people who had been touched by random acts of kindness by
PUHI — While some argue the aloha spirit is dead even in Hawai‘i and on Kaua‘i, don’t try that line on Denise Tripoli.
She heard stories of aloha, about people who had been touched by random acts of kindness by Hawai‘i’s and Kaua‘i’s people, throughout her “Aloha to Africa” tour to the East Coast that saw her on 11 planes, a train and a bus over nine days.
There was the founder of Trailways Buses who recalled a Hawai‘i doctor coming in on a Sunday to treat his son who had an ear infection.
Of Chicago visitors who hiked into Kalalau Valley on Christmas Eve, ran out of food, and were greeted with seafood laulau by total strangers they met in the valley.
Of another visitor who had a junk hike on Diamond Head turned into an unforgettable experience by a cabbie who took the rest of the day off to hike with the man for seven hours, giving him a lifetime worth of Hawaiiana and local customs and lore in a single afternoon.
Members of an American Airlines flight crew had their picture taken with Tripoli after learning the Wailua Homesteads resident flew out of Lihu‘e Airport, where some members of the American crew also call on periodically.
“Serendipitous” is how a masseur in Chicago described how things had worked out for Tripoli, who made the trip without escorts, any real plans, airline reservations, hotel reservations, or much of an idea of how things would turn out on her one-woman mission to secure airline tickets to bring young Africans impacted by AIDS to Kaua‘i for a brief exposure to the aloha spirit.
That came during the man’s giving Tripoli a two-hour massage at a Chicago hotel.
Hoping to convince people to come fly with her on American Airlines routes between Boston or New York and Miami and donate the free tickets between any points in the world American officials were offering to compete with JetBlue Airways, Tripoli didn’t have much luck getting people to go along for the ride with her.
Her intent was to secure several round-trip tickets and use them to bring young Africans to Kaua‘i in her “Aloha to Africa” idea.
She made two roundtrips to Miami from the East Coast, so did secure two tickets to start her dream’s journey to reality.
While she was hoping to return with several round-trip tickets in hand, she remains optimistic. The Kalalau hikers gave her cash and frequent-flyer miles when learning of her ambitious plans.
In Chicago, she met a Sudanese boy who had seen his parents murdered, walked thousands of miles, and was one of the young men featured in the “Lost Boys of Sudan” series of newspaper articles and TV shows.
Employees at the W hotel in Chicago pooled their resources and, with management’s approval, brought to Chicago to live and work four Sudanese boys.
It is very similar to what Tripoli wants to do on Kaua‘i.
“It was like seeing the fruit of your labor.” Meeting the Sudanese young man was “the most humbling moment of my life,” she said during a lunch interview at Gaylord’s Restaurant at Kilohana Plantation here.
Back on Kaua‘i, she lost no time continuing her quest, appearing on Ron Wiley’s KONG Radio Group show last week, and setting the groundwork to establish a Web site where people can donate money and frequent-flyer miles to her cause.
She is also considering establishing her own nonprofit organization, and filming a documentary showing what she wants to do to reduce the spread of AIDS in Africa.
Tripoli, 42, manager of the City Bank location inside the Lihu‘e Ace Hardware store on Rice Street, is a single parent.
She is banking on the knowledge that 97 percent of all of Kaua‘i’s households give $1,100 a year to charities (the national average is 89 percent), and has other fund-raising plans to make “Aloha to Africa” become a reality.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
