‘He was on his way’

LIHUE — Ali‘i Brown offered his T-shirt to his mom, Desaray Saito-Brown, so she could wipe the tears from her eyes as she played a song that reminded her of her oldest son, Keanu Shannon Lawai’a “Anu” Saito. She had just finished talking about Saito’s untimely death two years ago when he was only 20 years old.

But even though Saito-Brown still mourns the loss, rather than mope around, she re-focused her energy on a greater cause.

Last week, her family, including husband and father of Saito, Robert “Uncle Paka” Brown, and their two younger sons, Ali‘i and Larry Brown, presented a lofty donation of school supplies, food and other necessities to the Wai‘ale‘ale Project at Kaua‘i Community College.

“We want to make sure that his memory and everything goes on,” Saito-Brown said.

This was the second year the Wailua Homesteads family donated to the program, which helps adults who face financial, personal or academic struggles, or complete their first year of college.

Since 2010, the Wai‘ale‘ale Project, which Ali‘i Brown, 18, is attending, has impacted the lives of nearly 800 students between the ages of 18 and 66, and has assisted almost 300 students in earning their bachelor’s degrees, associates degrees or certificates.

Saito was in the sixth cohort of the Wai‘ale‘ale Project before his life was cut short. He had so much going for him — a star athlete who loved ocean recreation and paddling, an animal lover, a photography buff who excelled at editing videos, among many other things. The 2015 Kapa‘a High School graduate studied photography at KCC and planned to earn an associates degree in liberal arts.

“Life was looking good and he was on his way,” Saito-Brown said.

She added, however, that, “Anything can happen to an everyday family.”

That was one of the messages she passed along to the students of the Wai‘ale‘ale Project when she talked about the heartache that overtook her family after losing Saito. She also wanted to make sure that the students knew that they were never alone.

“If you think that nobody cares about you, you should think twice,” she said.

The Wai‘ale‘ale Project was one of the places Saito connected to people who cared, especially his mentor, Lahea Salazar, the program’s coordinator, which is one reason why Saito-Brown chose to contribute to the program.

“We love it,” said Salazar when asked how she felt about the donations.

She was also touched by the way that Saito-Brown handled such a traumatic event, and how she turned a negative into a positive.

Saito-Brown said it’s important to keep that kind of mindset, despite life’s hurdles.

“Life is still good; it’s still awesome,” she said.

•••

Coco Zickos, can be reached at 245-0424 or czickos@thegardenisland.com.