Over 80 turned out for activity day held in honor of MLK Jr.
Posted: January 21, 2025
During the long weekend and in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., over 80 people gathered at Kahauiki Village for an adventure afternoon sponsored by Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association’s Human and Civil Rights (HCR) Committee.
Kahauiki Village, a plantation-style permanent supportive housing community for formerly homeless households on Oʻahu, held the event in its open-air recreation center. The HCR committee invited the village’s children and their families to partake in an array of activities whose themes mirrored King’s legacy.
Four different activity stations entertained children and adults alike:
- Art for Justice: Coloring the Dream — A station featuring coloring materials and images related to civil rights, equality, and Martin Luther King Jr.
- Equality Games: Building a Better Future — Giant board games of Jenga and Connect Four to foster fair play, teamwork, and cooperation
- Voices for Change: Speaking Truth — A station for participants to perform poetry and spoken word pieces on themes of civil rights, equality, and justice
- Unity in Diversity: We are One — An opportunity to create friendship bracelets as a symbol of unity and connection
- Sweet Freedom: Baking a Better Tomorrow — Cookie decorating as a sweet reminder of hope and freedom
The three-hour event was well-attended by village children, many of whom attend nearby Puʻuhale Elementary, Kalakaua Middle, and Farrington High.
‘We want to help our kids grow as kids’
HCR committee members traveled from all over the state to support the event.
Daphna Ehrenhalt, a fifth-grade inclusion teacher at Keaʻau Elementary, serves as the interim chair of the HCR committee and spoke about the event’s importance.
“It’s (this event) is not just about one thing. It’s about many things. It’s about getting these kids used to seeing adults who care, getting these kids and these parents to see, hey, we’re not just here in your schools talking to your kids about adding and subtracting and reading. We also want to play games […] We want to help your kids grow as kids.”
They reinforced the timing of the event around the MLK Jr. holiday.
“Martin Luther King is a part of the heart of who we are as a committee…It’s because of him that we can do this work. So we are continuing his work in honor of him.”
Ryan Tong, social studies teacher at Waiʻanae High and vice president of HSTA’s of Leeward Chapter, volunteered at the poetry station.
“We’re looking to just have fun with the kids. I think that’s what they want. That’s what we want too – to just make it a good experience for them, for us. And hopefully we can do this more frequently in the future.”
For seventh-grade math teacher at Kealakehe Intermediate, Ray’shaun Reed, Saturday’s event was a full circle moment.
“The reason I’m an educator, and the reason I continue to be an educator, is because I was impoverished at one point in my life, like this is what I come from. And so that’s what always motivated me to want to be a teacher, was just being able to help people.
“I didn’t want people to go through the same struggles that I went through. And so to be here, it’s like a full circle moment for me to give back in a different way outside of the classroom,” he said.
