By Barry Villamil
I would like to share a story about an incredible group of third graders and their teachers, Ms. Iris Stokes and Ms. Cynthia Nagamine from Manana Elementary School who have inspired me and soon others around the world with their heartfelt messages of kindness and caring for one another and our planet Earth.
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to speak to the third graders about growing up in Pearl City. Earlier in the school year, I met the third graders for the first time while representing the Rotary Club of Pearlridge (RCOP) as its President to present free dictionaries to them and their teachers as a part of Rotary International’s Annual Dictionary 5000 Project. Dick Mosko, who is a past President of the RCOP also presented the free dictionaries and participated in sharing the history of Pearl City while I shared my stories and experiences growing up in Pearl City.
During my “Growing up in Pearl City” visit, I shared with the third graders and their teachers, H.O.P.E. Heal Our Planet Earth that I created to inspire people to look deep inside their hearts and share the love, kindness and compassion that they feel with others. I left the students and their teachers with a bunch of post its to write their messages of H.O.P.E.. Ms. Stokes and Ms. Nagamine invited me back to their classrooms on Wednesday to pick up the post it messages. I was instantly overwhelmed with inspiration from the students as they presented me with a wonderful Thank you card and shared their life inspired messages with me. It was an amazing and lifechanging experience that I will always cherish.
Back in 2017, Pearl City Shopping Center owner Duane Kurisu asked me to create a wall that the community could post messages on post its. I created the “Messages of Life W.A.L.L. With Aloha, Love Lives (forever). It became the Healing WALL with over 4000 post it messages from the community and visitors to the community. I was blessed and supported by Mr. Kurisu to write a book that featured Pearl City residents who shared their messages posted on the W.A.L.L.. The book is titled, “Stuck on Aloha” and is a wonderful compilation of eighteen stories and a couple hundred post it messages.
The W.A.L.L. was taken down during Covid and has reemerged in December 2024 with the theme “H.O.P.E. Heal Our Planet Earth”. I promised the Manana Elementary School third graders and their teachers that I would post their post it H.O.P.E. messages on the Messages of Life W.A.L.L. in a special section dedicated to their class and the opportunity for them to post more messages when they visit the shopping center. Their special H.O.P.E. post it messages section went up Wednesday night (12/18/24). I have included a photo of their special section and post it messages.
I am so grateful to the Manana Elementary school third graders and their teachers, Ms. Stokes and s. Nagamine and Principal Bryan Loo for embracing the spirit of H.O.P.E. through our keiki. Their messages will resonate around the world and inspire others to share their Messages of Life.
Photos by Barry Villamil
