Students from St. John the Baptist School, Kalihi, feed the fowl at Hoa Aina O Makaha. (Photo courtesy of Ms. Daugherty, fourth grade teacher)
By Carol F. Chong Special to the Herald
Carol Chong, the principal of St. John the Baptist School in Kalihi, took her students and teachers, grades 2-8, on a field trip to Hoa Aina O Makaha, an educational farm on the Waianae Coast, for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Oct. 4. Here she shares the experience.
Last year, to celebrate St. Francis of Assisi’s feast day, Oct. 4, we took our students to the Honolulu Zoo. It certainly was a fun experience as the students are zoo experts and knew the lay of the land. Seeing the animals awakened the spirit of St. Francis within them.
This year, however, a presentation by Gigi Cocquio, director of Hoa Aina O Makaha, made it clear to me that we were not going to the zoo again.
Hoa Aina O Makaha started in 1979 on five acres of land on the Waianae coast owned by the Diocese of Honolulu. The place served as an alternative learning center for high school students from Waianae and Nanakuli who were unable to function in a regular classroom environment. There they learned how to care about themselves by caring for the land using traditional Hawaiian values.
It was the perfect place for St. John the Baptist School students to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis. Immediately upon arrival, the students gathered for a Hawaiian chant signaling welcome and permission to step into this sacred space. All were led to the halau where they were greeted by Uncle Gigi, Auntie Kuu, Uncle Shannon, Uncle Lonny and Ms. Danielle. Students were told that they were going to learn Hawaiian history, take a nature walk, pet animals, plant flowers and make a prayer banner.
I followed Group 3 with Auntie Kuu who showed the students a model of an ahupuaa complete with water irrigation system, and a representation of the Hawaiian island chain complete with volcanos. We saw an imu pit, a place to play Hawaiian games, and a replica of the Polynesian triangle. With the Waianae Mountain Range as the backdrop, we walked past banana trees ripe with fruit, noni trees, cotton plants, an herb garden and kalo. One almost expected St. Francis to appear around the corner.
Kuu led us to the Forest of the Gods where the students saw rocks shaped like the four major Hawaiian gods and learned of their powers. Under a canopy of trees, she shared facts about plants and Hawaiian history. She reminded us that God is always present when we see the plants billow in the wind!
Kuu’s tour ended with students planting their own plants. As they dug the soil with bare hands and tucked little plants into the ground, Kuu urged the students to talk to their plants since they were now the parents and the plants needed reassurance to grow. Kuu said she hoped the students would come back to Makaha to visit their little babies.
Next, Uncle Gigi and Uncle Lonny showed us the Chamber of Blessings and the Blessed where a beautiful triptych by artist Sergio Mitrotti honors St. Francis of Assisi, St. Damien and St. Marianne. We all sang “Mahalo Ke Akua” and made a prayer flag with words from St. Francis. Uncle Gigi spoke of his love of St. Francis and his trips to Assisi. He showed us a rock from a cave that St. Francis slept in. The spirit of St. Francis was felt here!
Group 3’s final stop was the animal area with a brief lesson about the bee apiary. Students petted the Harry Potter-named bunnies and handfed an enthusiastic gaggle of geese! They saw Billie the Goat and were told he made a commercial! They could have stayed all afternoon feeding and petting the animals, listening to the clucking of the chickens and the buzzing of the bees, but there was not enough time. We had to board the bus and head back to town.
We left truly feeling the spirit of St. Francis and his love of nature and animals. Being with the trees and mountains, and feeling the wind and sun so completely on one’s face, the spirit of God not only touched the bodies of the students and teachers, but spread a true warmth in their souls. The day reminded us that learning never ends when one steps out of the classroom and stands by the phrase, “Lucky we live Hawaii!”
Mahalo, Gigi and the staff of Hoa Aina O Makaha!
“Pure, holy simplicity confounds all the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of the flesh.”(St. Francis of Assisi)
