HANAPEPE — These students did not need a ladder to get to the roofs of the Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity homes they were working on last week. Forty-four students, including three chaperones and sponsors, from the Southern Adventist University in
HANAPEPE — These students did not need a ladder to get to the roofs of the Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity homes they were working on last week.
Forty-four students, including three chaperones and sponsors, from the Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tenn., have been volunteering their time on Kaua‘i.
“Anyone driving through Hanapepe will notice the change in front of the Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity facility,” said Janis Benn, the Americorp VISTA volunteer coordinator at the Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity. “The 6-foot high weeds are gone and the large pile of free items has been removed.
“But the big change is in the ReStore thrift store. Fresh paint, cleaned floors and new displays make the warehouse look almost new.”
Benn said the students, breaking up into different groups, have spent time working in the ReStore, the housing project in ‘Ele‘ele, and at the Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity facility in Hanapepe.
Buddy Summitt, a public relations major at the university, said one group always stays behind at Kahili Mountain Park where they are housed.
“They’ve painted the library walls and worked with the students at the Kahili Adventist School in Worship Week as well as leading them in physical education and teaching gymnastics,” Summit said.
The students volunteering here are from the university’s Gym Masters gymnastics team and do a lot of impromptu gymnastic moves during their volunteer tasks.
“They don’t need ladders to get up to the roof,” Benn said. “They simply do lifts and elevators and they’re up. These kids have been literally doing back flips in our warehouse as they work.”
True to Benn’s word, the group working to assemble kitchen cabinets moved into a position where two of the guys held two girls on one hand amidst the cartons, lumber and cabinets.
A chaperone said the volunteerism is all part of the students’ commitment to living healthy and being drug-free, alchohol-free.
Benn said this group is the first of several coming through the Habitat for Humanity project in March, causing the nonprofit to enjoy its own “March Madness.”
From March 15 through March 21, Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity will be hosting a group of 13 high school students and their chaperones from St. John’s School in Vancouver, B.C.
This coincides with the visit from six students from Kula who will be volunteering March 18-19, Benn said.
“The kids really want to play basketball with some of our 17 and 18 year olds,” Benn said. “I’ve been in contact with several people, but everyone is saying basketball is over and everyone is moving into volleyball.”
Anyone interested in having a game with the Canadian high school students can call Benn at 335-0296.
Following on the heels of the Canadians, students from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo led by VISTA volunteer Tupou Koenig will be partnering with Kaua‘i Habitat for a week of work as part of their “Students in Service” program.
People interested in volunteering for Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity can call Benn at 335-0296 or visit www.kauaihabitat.org.
Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
