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Broadcasts of HIKI NO are made possible by the support of viewers like you - mahalo.
And by HIKI NO founding underwriter Bank of Hawaii, investing in Hawaiis future by promoting
collaboration, critical thinking, and other twenty-first century skills through HIKI NO.
And HMSA, helping Hawaiis youth and their families stay healthy today, tomorrow, and
for generations to come. HMSA - trusted for generations.
Aloha. Im Shisa Kahaunaele from Kamehameha Schools Kapalama.
And Im Caitlin Alvior from Mililani High School. Welcome to this special edition of HIKI NO.
Caitlin and I now participate in HIKI NO as high school students, but we were both exposed
to the program while in middle school.
Thats right. I was one of the student anchors from Mililani Middle School when they hosted
an episode of HIKI NO last year.
And I was attending Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School on Kauai when HIKI NO was in the thick
of its planning stages. My fellow media students and I were filled with anticipation about
this revolutionary new program. In fact, I appeared in one of the early promotional spots
for HIKI NO.
Since our middle school days, weve seen HIKI NO make great strides in the quality of its
production, journalism, and storytelling.
In fact, the just completed Fall 2013 season has yielded some incredible work, and wed
like to share some of it with you during the next half hour.
So, stay tuned, and youll see some of the exceptional things Hawaii students hiki nO;
can do.
I am especially proud to introduce our first story, because it comes from the middle school
I attended, Chiefess Kamakahelei, in the heart of Lihue, Kauai. This story proves that HIKI
NO students have become adept at investigating some of the complex, overwhelming problems
that challenge our island state; in this case, traffic gridlock on the Garden Isle.
On the east side of Kauai, residents are having to deal with a problem that has become all
too common: traffic.
Well, I think right now, a little bit of the traffic that we have right now is caused by
construction. So, thats problem number one. The second problem is, a lot of people rent
a car to be on island, cause they like to go out and explore.
Traffic increased because our population increased by about fifteen thousand, and also, the tourist
population increased.
The traffic congestion has been very frustrating for the residents. On bad days, it can take
up to five times longer than usual.
By that small cemetery by the triangle across the street from Ono Family Restaurant, I used
to go there; I think it took me fifteen minutes one day to get to Longs Drugs. And normally,
thats a three-minute ride.
The inability to just get home, or get to the grocery store, run simple errands, it
takes considerably longer.
Well, I can say for Growing Greens Nursery way up on Kawaihao Road, the traffic doesnt
really affect us up here. But when you get into downtown Kapaa, everyone down there is
affected. I mean, its a nightmare to get out of the Safeway parking lot. It is something
that people dont want to do.
Construction being done by the Department of Transportation may be one of the reasons
why we have traffic congestion. But their main intention is to help improve the traffic
flow.
What we are planning on doing is, widening out some of our highways, adding more facilities
for buses, adding more sidewalks.
Although a lot of effort is being given by the DOT, tourists may soon join the frustrated
community, and it may become a threat to our economy.
We actually decided to come here, because we heard it wasnt quite as bad.
Yeah.
So, if it got worse in the future, then it would definitely affect our decision.
So, if the amount of visitors were to drop for the Island of Kauai, it would have an
impact on overall jobs, it could have an impact on peoples businesses. Weve actually seen
restaurants, and some small businesses could close, and thats happened before when weve
had a drop in tourism.
Local residents continue to deal with the traffic and finding ways around it. And some
are hopeful that it will get better. The question is when that will be. This is Brandon Marcos
from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, for HIKI NO.
Our next story is a shining example of what we at HIKI NO call a personal profile. Thats
a story told about an individual through a carefully edited interview with that person.
Here, journalists from Lahainaluna High School paint a vivid portrait of a Maui teenager
with cultural roots in a tiny Micronesian island.
Being half Micronesian and half Filipino, and coming here, living here is hard for me.
Kimberly Yap is a senior at Lahainaluna High School. At the age of five, Kim moved with
her parents and a few close family members from Kiribati, a small Micronesian island,
to Maui.
My family moved here looking for a better life, looking for better education for myself.
Right now, our island, Kiribati is sinking from global warming and theres nothing they
can do. Theres nothing anybody can do. Its a poor community, you know. It hasnt evolved
yet into what this world has come to.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Me and my family are deciding whether I should go back to my island after graduation, or
save the money for college. Were just kind of in a stump right now, because we dont know
what were gonna do. My family is trying to teach me one culture, and then Im living in
another culture. So, what culture do I live in? You know.
[SINGING]
My family is very strict. Girls arent allowed to cut their hair, theyre not allowed to dye
their hair. Theyre supposed to live conservative. Being a girl in our tradition, you cant be
out late, and you just have so much rules, you know. You have to be the one to take care
of the siblings and cook all the meals. Girls were meant to be the housewives instead of
the smart business maker. I dont want to be a housewife, and I think thats why the best
choice for me is to go to college. I need to grow up, and I think going to college,
getting a good job, maybe going back home, showing my family that Im successful in life
could really like, help us out.
This is Sophia Freddy from Lahainaluna High School, for HIKI NO.
Most people are very impressed when they find out that the HIKI NO middle schools produce
work that is on par with their high school counterparts. But when they see the high quality
of stories created by a HIKI NO elementary school, they usually react in stunned disbelief.
Here is one such story from Kainalu Elementary in Windward Oahu.
This is one of my favorite tricks. This is called Eating Spaghetti. You make the spaghetti
noodles, you put some Parmesan cheese, and you [SLURP], mmm.
Thats cool.
This is Walking the Nice Little Doggy. Woof-woof-woof-woof-woof!
Alan Nagao, a professional Yo-Yo-ist, discovered at an early age he had a special talent for
Yo-Yo tricks. He played with his Yo-Yo because he could not do well at things other kids
could do.
[WHISTLING]
Whoa!
I was born with a physical handicap caused by a drug that my mom took. It was prescribed
to her from the doctor. It was called Thalidomide. I have an artificial leg. And I was born basically
with these physical handicaps because of the drug.
In spite of his birth defects, Alan received much attention when he was selected as a National
Poster Child.
Well, I was selected for Easter Seals at four years old. They liked that I smiled a lot.
His smile won the hearts of many celebrities, including the President of the United States.
However, when Alan attended school, life became more challenging.
I got teased things like Peg Leg and Hop Along. You know, sometimes in elementary school,
kids can be kind of cruel, and especially if youre a little different. And I had to
wear that ugly helmet all the time, and so, everybody would kinda look at me. And I was
always the last one to get picked on teams, because I couldnt run. All of the other kids
would run, and play Dodge Ball. It was almost like they already lost the game, just because
they got me on the team.
Alan became an expert at doing Yo-Yo tricks. When he got older, he had an idea and approached
the American Toy Company to market their Yo-Yos.
I brought this idea to Japan, and I made a dollar a Yo-Yo from the American Toy Companies
that sold the Yo-Yos. And so, I had an event in the Tokyo Toy Fair where we had seventy
thousand boys nine to twelve years old come to play Yo-Yos. And the line was two and a
half miles long. We launched the Yo-Yo boom in Japan, and in one year, we sold ten and
a half million Yo-Yos. Ive made millions and millions of dollars in business and people,
I guess, look at that as being success. Ive raised a really nice family. You know, Ive
been married for twenty-eight years. So, I think a lot of people look at me and say that
I have a very special talent. And so, its become almost the opposite, where people are
looking at me as being a success story, and use me as an example of what they could do
for themselves.
This is Erin Heggarty reporting for HIKI NO, from Kainalu Elementary School.
HIKI NO provides the general public with a window to school life in Hawaii. Sometimes,
we see things they never knew existed. Most people know about the problem of students
bullying other students, but students bullying a teacher? Thats another story. And here it
is, from Waianae Intermediate in West Oahu.
I want you guys to label [INDISTINCT]. So what I mean by that is Ö
Fitting in is something that everyone has a hard time with, especially when youre growing
up.
When I was younger, I wasnt into sports, I wasnt into stereotypical things that guys
were into.
But for Luis Sanchez, fitting in was the least of his problems, because Ö
When I was younger, I was bullied by other students. They would not want to sit by me.
I was called sissy.
The name-calling and bullying he experienced affected him deeply.
It made me feel worthless. It made me feel like I didnt matter. One time in middle school,
I did try to commit suicide, and one time in high school, I tried again.
As he grew up, he thought the bullying was finally over.
So, Im multiplying one by five Ö
There was an incident at the school where students were writing things Ö Mr. Sanchez
is gay on my walls, among other things, on my outside walls. It made me feel like I was
in elementary school again. It made me feel like somehow, I didnt have control over it,
even though I do, because Im an adult.
But this time, he was not alone.
Mr. Sanchez did not deserve to be treated that way, and I think those kids should have
some consequences.
He would come to work every day for two months and saw that all over the walls outside his
room. And it was disheartening, just really, really upsetting to see a teacher getting
bullied by his own students.
At the start of each school year, all Waianae Intermediate students are given a Chapter
19 booklet that explains the rules governing student discipline and misconduct under State
law.
I went into each classroom and had a discussion with the kids about Chapter 19 all over again,
with the focus on bullying and how bullying isnt acceptable, nor is it tolerated on the
Waianae Intermediate School campus for any student or teacher.
In spite of a few bad apples, there are students who look up to him.
I think hes a really good teacher.
I really like him a lot. No matter what he goes through at this school, he keeps trying,
he doesnt give up.
By not giving up, Sanchez has brought positive changes to the school.
There were several teachers that came to have a meeting with me, and gave me some contacts
of people who could come in and educate both teachers and students about bullying in general.
The changes made at school have allowed Luis Sanchez to move past the bullying and move
towards forgiveness.
I love all of my students, and I understand that middle school is a really tough time.
But I guess the main thing I would want them to know is that I forgive them.
This is Leihalia Panui reporting from Waianae Intermediate School, for HIKI NO.
Some HIKI NO students choose to produce what are called franchise pieces; short, how-to
instructional videos. On occasion, students creating a franchise piece will transcend
the how-to format and offer a glimpse into a world most of us know little about. Such
was the case with this piece from Kalani High School on Oahu.
I am nineteen years old. I attend school, Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind.
Because its difficult for Ramon to talk with others, he uses special deaf/blind cards to
communicate if he needs help. One card that he uses is to help him cross the streets.
This is how he uses it.
With his cane, hell find the curb of the street, find the notch in the deaf/blind cards so
he doesnt block what is written on it, and wait until someone taps him.
Once someone acknowledges him, he will drop the deaf/blind card that is hanging around
his neck and hold onto the persons arm so they can cross the street.
When theyre done crossing the street, Ramon will politely say thank you, and Ramon and
the helper will go their separate ways.
If Im waiting, and waiting and standing for a while, and I want to cross the street, please
help me.
This is Megan Shinagawa from Kalani High School, for HIKI NO.
I was honored and humbled to find out that a story I wrote and edited was selected for
this retrospective. It is also very special to me, because the story was a co-production
between my former middle school and my current high school, both in Mililani, and because
it is about my passion, filmmaking. Here it is. I hope you enjoy it.
Marks Garage in Downtown Honolulu is the home of Hawaii Women in Filmmaking. Founded in
February of 2011, this devoted group of women has created a safe and creative space dedicated
to building a community of women and girls who connect, create, mentor, and inspire other
women and girls to explore the world of film. Their mission is to encourage women and girls
work behind the camera and to empower them in making media that matters.
What I enjoy the most about it, its really to bring people together through film and
have the possibility to really create definitions for women and girls to engage with such a
powerful and strong medium, which is film. In line with our mission to put more women
and girls behind the camera, last year we launched a pilot project, Summer Reel Camp
for Girls, which is one week intensive [CHUCKLE] workshops where girls learn the art and craft
of filmmaking in a very condensed and intense way, but really managing to be exposed to
all the ins and outs of filmmaking.
Even though it was really intense, it was very energizing, cause it was just like the
excitement all the girls felt, and that they really wanted to learn ways, and how to use
a camera, how to tell a story really well. I think that was one of the things that kinda
made me feel like, Oh, man, I can do this forever.
It was different from being inside a classroom, because our lessons werent actually that very
long. It was like a few hours, and then right after that, we had to plan and go out there
and film.
As far as our organization is concerned, I want them to know that they have a space they
can always go back to. They can always bring their ideas, and we will work our best to
make that idea happen with them. I also want them to think and believe that they are amazing,
creative beings, that its just a matter of having the tool and they can just do it.
From Mililani High School, this is Caitlin Alvior for Mililani Middle and HIKI NO.
Our next story is on a subject that appears a lot on HIKI NO, the dissipation of our precious
natural resources. In this case, fish. But what makes this story special is the way that
journalists from Waianae High School place this local problem into a global and very
human context.
The environment is all about balance. And when you lose balance, normally what happens
is, something along that food pyramid crashes.
Oh! I have something; I dont know what it is, though. [INDISTINCT] Come here!
Emil Muraoka lives for the catch.
I fish for passion, I fish for excitement, and I fish for my own joy.
Whoo! Live and die for that.
Today, hes been lucky. But very soon Ö
[INDISTINCT]
His luck will change, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United
Nations, who estimate that more than three-quarters of the worlds fish stocks are overexploited.
If I couldnt fish anymore, ooh Ö I dont know what I would do. I think Id be kind of lost.
This is an all too real possibility. If the overfishing continues, the worlds fish stocks
will be depleted by the year 2048, according to a journal in Science Magazine.
[SIGH] This is just break time.
But for people like Eileen Bebeau and her family, taking a break isnt something they
can afford.
It started out recreational, and you kinda get hooked on it, so we do it quite often
now commercially. We ended up with fifteen octopus ranging from eight to ten pounds.
It all depends on the tides and the currents.
It wasnt always like this, though.
We could go really close to shore and catch ahi, and catch six, seven a day within a couple
hours. And you cant do that anymore. Its already showed a decline from thirty years ago.
And in the next thirty years Ö
We have to be very, very cautious on a worldwide scale not to overharvest.
People just take what they dont need, and they take more than whats given.
Will there be a lot of fish around? I dont know. Hopefully, we wont have to experience
that, but we dont know. That is a fear of the unknown.
A fear not only for themselves, but for future generations as well.
We want to have fish for our children and our childrens children.
And the younger fishers are starting to catch on.
Theres no sense in taking things of which I dont need, cause theres a lot for other
people. So, I like to share.
And Emil is doing his part, one fish at a time.
The first fish is always the throw-back fish, so at least we know theres something out there.
This is Crystal Cebedo reporting from Waianae High School, for HIKI NO.
You can tell a lot about a community by the way it responds to tragedy, even when the
tragedy takes place at the opposite end of the country. When the primary motive behind
the response is healing, it tells you even more. Heres a story from Konawaena High School
on Hawaii Island about community, art, and healing.
[SINGING] Over the rainbow Ö
In a small community in Kealakekua, Hawaii, young artists created a public mural. What
started out as a mural to beautify and inspire students on an elementary campus transformed
after a national tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.
On December 14, 2012, twenty children and six teachers were fatally shot by a gunman
who entered Sandy Hook Elementary School.
While we were painting, we were listening to it on the news. And it kinda changed how
we felt about the mural. And we were painting the young boy who is waving out at his parents.
And when a parent drops their kid off in the morning, they expect their kid to be there.
And for twenty parents, that didnt happen for them.
In response to the tragedy, a new focus for the already initiated mural at Konawaena Elementary
was selected. Young ladies from the Twinkling Stars 4H Club and Konawaena High School students
volunteered their time and talents to create a mural that hopes to remind the public to
never forget the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School.
It makes me think about like, what if this happened here. And I would want someone out
there to know about it.
Twenty flowers were painted to represent the children, and six bees were painted, symbolizing
the teachers who lost their lives at Sandy Hook.
The children who are represented as the flowers, theyre protecting our children here at Konawaena.
And then, that white flower, theyre saying, Dont let society forget about us. Dont. It
was really healing to those that worked on it. It felt good. They thought, Okay, Im doing
something, Im doing something good.
I learned it took a lot of work to do it. It took so many people just to get this together.
Not only painters in general, but it took the people that put it up, it took everybody.
The message of Never Again is forever portrayed in the mural dedicated to the victims of Sandy
Hook Elementary School. This is Schelin Ireland reporting from Konawaena High School, for
HIKI NO.
[SINGING]
Our final story was created by journalists from Oahus Waipahu High about a senior at
their school. But it is also about so much more. Its about seizing opportunity in the
face of adversity. Its about how we view other people. Its about recognizing how good we
have it, and its done in the best HIKI NO style: simply, clearly, honestly, and courageously.
So, my family and I are currently in a situation where we are considered homeless; we do not
have a home.
According to a recent study from the National Center on Family Homelessness, there are over
one thousand five hundred children in Hawaii who are considered homeless. Approximately
one hundred seventy of those children are in high school. Victoria Cuba is one of those
students. Cuba and her family have been considered homeless since May of 2013. For a while, they
were staying at a beach in Ewa in their car.
It was a little cramped, of course, and I couldnt stand it because of my brothers snoring.
But we made do with what we had.
Because of the situation, Victoria has learned to become mature in times of need.
It also made me realize you have to appreciate what you have. Most people take for granted
that you have a house, and they dont realize that, you know, people out there dont have
homes. They dont. They have a hard time finding a place to sleep, and everything.
This is not the first time that Victoria has been through this situation. In 2008, Victorias
family resided in a junkyard due to being evicted.
I didnt like going to school, because I was afraid that everybody would tease me because
I lived here. Like, I smelled.
This experience has made me grow up pretty quick, because I have to learn to take care
of my family.
Through this experience, she was able to overcome her fears and persevere. She is currently
enrolled in Waipahu High Schools early college program through a partnership with UH West
Oahu and Leeward Community College.
I am currently taking a History 151 class, and I hope to take English 100 next semester.
Victoria hopes to go to college to pursue a career in the film industry, but she will
always take with her what she learned from this experience. She has learned that although
someone may be smiling when they walk by, they may be feeling something differently.
She has learned that a personal story may be buried beneath that smile.
There are people who are always worse off than you are. You have to remember that you
live a good life.
This is Camyl Limaco from Waipahu High School, for HIKI NO.
We hope youve enjoyed watching this outstanding work from the Fall 2013 season of HIKI NO
as much as weve enjoyed presenting it to you.
These stories have inspired me to continue my journey in digital media through high school,
and who knows, perhaps through college and beyond.
Caitlin, you took the words right out of my mouth. And regardless of what career path
I eventually pursue, the lessons I learned from HIKI NO will stay with me forever.
Be sure to tune in next week for more amazing stories as Hawaii students continue to prove
that they
hiki nO Ö
Can do.