The Laie YSA 1st Stake helped clean up and visited with residents at the Kahuku Elderly Hauoli Hale on Saturday, Nov. 1. Remedios Worthy, a local resident of the senior home originally from the Philippines, said, “I’ve lived here for 16 years and BYU has come every single year. The workers here clean and provide and everything but you guys do a lot better.” President Alan Akina, 2nd counselor in the Laie YSA 1st Stake Presidency and coordinator of the project, said he feels the residents enjoyed the company the students provided more than the help. “They get to meet students from all over the world and talk to them. Just saying, ‘Hi,’ and asking how they’re doing is huge for them. I think we take it for granted because we see people all the time but a lot of them aren’t able to get out. They’re confined here and don’t have many visitors. It’s a special place for us.”Akina said the stake has been doing service projects at the Hale since he’s been in the stake presidency for the past six years. “We’ve sort of adopted this place over the years. Once we did it the first time, we sort of got attached to the residents here. Every stake conference we do a service project here so we come twice a year.”“Our stake has eight wards and one branch so nine months out of the year each unit will host a special activity that’s tied into a certain holiday. For example, Laie Park Ward just did one for Halloween. We’ve done Valentine’s Day, Senior Citizen’s day, Christmas and all kinds of different holidays. We provide some type of service with food, talent shows and singing,” said Akina.Akina said the service also brings good memories for the students and residents. Akina said, “When I was a bishop, we did Valentine’s Day and danced with them. We had music, a deejay and they were dancing with our guys. The older ladies loved the young guys and would dance with them the whole night. It was a blast to see them light up. A lot of them are single now because their spouse has passed and it’s good to see these things happen.”Worthy said she loves the personal interactions. “The workers or volunteers sometimes are so busy so I never used to talk to them much,” said Worthy. “But I can tell you what they did today was wonderful. It’s really nice because you’re so friendly and nice.” Worthy said she had seven students cleaning her windows, kitchen and even bathroom.Katie Kelly, a freshman from Idaho studying psychology, was one of the students who worked on Worthys’ house. She said, “Just seeing the smile on her face made me know she appreciated it. Spending time on her house and getting to see and interact with her, I could tell she was a really nice lady who valued the work and effort we were putting in. It was great because not only did we get to bond with fellow ward members but also we could feel the love of Christ helping these people.”Kelly said she feels this kind of service project is needed. “I feel like this is actually reaching out to people in the community and interacting with people who are Mormon and non-Mormon. It shows that we’re not just about learning here but serving the community, our fellowman and showing our love. It’s humbling for students and a teachable moment for people in the community.” President Akina noted service projects are great opportunities for missionary work. “We’ve had several baptisms and a ton of happy senior citizens. We were power washing a walkway for a new resident, an older man from Tonga, who isn’t a member. One of the high councilmen invited him to the Family History Center right there. So there’s missionary work going on here. I believe we’ll keep serving here as long as we can.”
Writer: Joshua Mason ~ Multimedia Journalist
