A screen shot of Hui Maluha’s Nov. 17 Zoom meeting with Karlie Lodjic, Washington State regional coordinator for Students for Life chapters in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, teaching Apologetics 101. (Courtesy photo)
By Christian Raquepo
Special to the Herald
“‘We are sorrowful, yet we are always rejoicing’ (2 Corinthians 6:10). Life is joyful, and defending life is a mission that should be carried out with joy. We seek to foster, in ourselves and others, a ‘joyful sorrow,’ that is, a spirit that is always mourning because of its keen awareness of the ongoing, unseen destruction of human life, and at the same time, is always serene and rejoicing that death has been conquered by Jesus Christ.” (“Pro-Life Reflections for Every Day”)
Our technical name is Hui Maluha, Hawaiian for “Guardians of Life.” Based at Damien Memorial School, we are the first chapter of Students for Life in Hawaii. A second chapter has opened at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Our motto is “Hoʻomalu ka Ha” — “Protecting the Breath of Life.”
In Hui Maluha, we support equal rights for all human beings. We use our voices for those who had theirs taken away. Members work to save lives threatened by abortion and euthanasia. We provide a safe environment for those too scared to speak their opinions on such matters. We strive to educate ourselves about events and issues regarding life and work with others who share the same goal. We aim to help people, ensuring that choosing life is always seen as a moral obligation.
Prior to my recruitment into Damien Memorial Students for Life, I was told by our two advisors that the group had been much smaller than it is now, and not very much had occurred. This all changed when four members of the Class of 2023, Renata Marantz, Mysha McGarry, Isaac Noguchi and Arimathea Bennett, took part in the Life Symposium in 2019 and connected with Karlie Lodjic, Students for Life Washington State regional coordinator, who advises chapters in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, and were given materials and resources necessary to revive our Students for Life.
Karlie Lodjic, Students for Life Washington State regional coordinator, can be seen in the background listening to high schoolers sharing their reflections at the 2019 Life Symposium. (HCH file photo)
Two of the four reached out to our advisors, Makana Aiona and Judith Carino, and on Sept. 22 we held our first meeting via Zoom. As the weeks progressed, our numbers increased as more joined our mission. We are currently 19 proud, unapologetic Damien Memorial Students for Life.
Meeting weekly via Zoom, because we cannot meet in person, we have been educating ourselves about the pro-life movement. One way we do this is by watching internet videos and sharing what we learned from them. Another way is through guest speakers who share their experiences about being pro-life and empower us in our defense for life. Presenters have included Susan Duffy of Pearson Place — a local, volunteer-run pregnancy center — who gave us a virtual tour of the pregnancy center, and Mary Rose Timmons who shared her powerful testimony to the Gospel of life and three special saints: St. Gianna Molla, who refused an abortion while pregnant knowing that without it she would die, St. Maximilian Kolbe who, while in the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, offered his life to save another’s, and Our Lady of Guadalupe who wears a cord which symbolizes pregnancy.
Among Damien’s 19 Guardians of Life are 19 powerful, compelling testaments to the Gospel of life. Among us are those loved dearly through adoption, whose life, like many others, was on the line and at risk of being aborted. Among us also are those who can no longer keep silent and watch this world turn upside down because of the culture of death. Among us are those who will speak out for those whose voices are not being heard. Among us are those who are unapologetic about our stance on the human rights of our times. No matter what others speak about us, we know we are doing the right thing: standing up for the TRUTH! We are Students for Life!
As the only pro-life students’ club on Oahu, one of two in the state, and the oldest active club, we are sparked with an identity that says we are the pro-life generation. And as the only pro-life high school group in Hawaii, out of all public, private, Catholic, and charter schools, we are for the other schools a seed planted for the pro-life future. Hawaii was the first state to legalize abortion and is among the few states that have legalized physician-assisted suicide; we are today’s cultural hope to correct such things.
