HomeMy WebLinkAboutComm No 0021.152 - Testimony - CA-7 - PONC fund and Maintenance fundJacie Umemoto
8th grade
Volcano School of Arts & Sciences
Volcano, Hawaii 96785
February 7, 2019
Charter Commission
Hilo , HI 96720
Regarding 2 % land funds program
Aloha Commission. My name is Jacie and I live in Pahala. I play softball,
baseball, basketball, and I swim. Kawa means so much to me as bad as the
wind blows sand in my eyes. Kawa is still fun even though we don't go as
much, we enjoy every single moment at Kawa. We chant before we walk in
and hold hands when we leave and sing oli mahalo for thanking the 'aina
and help out the little kids. Working on clearing out some of the plants we
don't need, we lop it down and fly it in one big pile and Uncle Kaui or Uncle
Duane throws it away later at the rubbish dump. When we're finished,
some people water the plants so we can plant them again inside the
ground so we can keep the plants and not lose them.
At Kawa we are really lucky to find animals we've never seen. For
example, we've seen about 5 scorpions. We didn't kill it because it was a
living thing and didn't do anything to bother us. Kawa has a really cool
breeze and the sun is out most of the time we work on gathering rocks and
pulling out the trees we don't need. We always work by the ocean,
normally for about an hour. We eat lunch and go have our free time, then,
when we finish, we change our clothes and sing oli mahalo in a circle. Then
we have the really bad walk back 'cause it's very hot walking back. When
you don't think about how far you are, the better the walk is and it seems
to take less time. It would be so amazing if we could do that for the next
generation and the next, so we can teach the new ones what we did when
Comm. No. 21.152
we were in eighth grade. Clearing rubbish that's stuck inside the rock
from other islands that the rubbish comes from. We pick it up and put it in
a trash bags then uncle Kaui throws it away after.
Funding Kawa or preserving Kawa is important for the health of the
native plants and live things. Tourism could be dangerous because people
that come near the water they don't really know how to swim . They litter
a lot and they don't really know about the rules about not touching the
Honu (Hawaiian sea turtle) and staying 15 feet or more behind the honu.
Mahalo for listening to my speech and I hope it meant a lot. Please
don't take Kawa cause it means a lot to us and would be really
heartbreaking watching something you love go away. Something you
grew up on and learned everything you know right now about the ocean.
Watching the view once you reach the right place you can see the clear
mountain. Putting your feet in the cold water and looking and listening,
the waves hitting the rocks, you lean back after a hard working day, go
home and sleep.
Love,
Jacie Samia Kaila Sandra Umemoto