‘I want to help’: Inspired by Maui, students gather for disaster response course

WAILUKU (HawaiiNewsNow) - More than 100 high school students from across the state are gathered at Baldwin High School this week for a three-day intensive course to give them the skills they need to be prepared for future emergencies.

They are learning skills like CPR and first aid through a program called CERT — Community Emergency Response Training.

The bigger picture? That these kids will develop confidence and the tools to be leaders in their communities when they’re faced with a disaster.

HNN asked a handful of the participants why they wanted to give up their fall break to be in class. They said they jumped at the chance and were inspired by all that has happened in the last couple of months.

“I want to help,” said Baldwin High student Anica Ancheta. “Spread this to our community, too, so that we as a whole can be more proactive when it comes to dealing with disasters and relief.”

“Just seeing other people coming together and helping one another out and seeing what you can do to help out other people really makes you feel what the others are going through,” said Maui High student Makai Lindsey.

Four students from Lahainaluna High who lost their homes in August also said that being a part of the training program was important to them and they’ve felt the love from their fellow high schools.

“It’s just really special to see all these other schools. I wasn’t expecting to see other schools from other islands,” said RJ Arconado.

Another really special part of the effort is how quickly it came together.

ClimbHI — a nonprofit working to empower Hawaii’s keiki to find their path after high school — is partnering with FEMA, Red Cross Hawaii, Hawaii Community Foundation, U.S. Navy, Kamehameha Schools and Alaska Airlines to put this on at no cost to students.

“Not only is this program connecting students from schools throughout the state as they receive critical emergency response training, but it also provides them with transferrable, in-demand skills and certifications as they transition into the workforce,” said Julie Morikawa, President of ClimbHI.

“It’s a bigger level where they’re healing together, learning together, building confidence,” said John Blalock, Disaster Preparedness Manager of Red Cross Pacific Island Region.

They’re even utilizing some of the resources and people that are on the ground on Maui helping the island recover from the wildfires.

Students got to meet with Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke on Monday as she was on island to meet with the mayor and local businesses on the second day of the tourism restart.

“There’s this really exciting, you know, we always say the future really is in the hands of the kids, the high school students and the fact that we have high school represented from throughout the island,” Luke said. “This really shows that they care.”

Organizers say they know Hawaii will face more tragedies and emergencies in the future and the more people we can mold into the leaders the state needs during those tough times, the better.

In talking with those four Lahainaluna students, they say that focus their effort and their hearts on something this positive has been therapeutic.

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