Viriditas2: Soul Greening
Interviewed by Sister Malia Dominica Wong, OP
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The other week, my sister Juliet came home from Arizona. The first thing she wanted to do was to visit Franciscan Sister Grace Jose Capellas at Hale Meleana. She wanted to tell her that due to her encouragement in high school choir, she cantors at her parish. This is one of the many memories and gifts received from being educated at Saint Francis School in Manoa.
I am one of four siblings who graduated from the school. A beautiful part of our education there was that we had to do 100 hours of volunteer work.
At a funeral I attended during my sophomore year, my sister helped me make the connection to work at the PACT (Parents and Children Together) Family Peace Center. I put in my application and got hired. From 100 service hours, I ended up with 1,000!
From being a child care facilitator, I became a full-time domestic violence facilitator offering classes for women and children from newborns to teens. I ended up loving the program so much that I thought I had found my vocation.
After graduation in 2000, I put in my application at Kaiser Permanente to work in the Teen and Young Adult Clinic. Because I had all those years of experience, I was immediately hired. However, in 2005, the program ended as the grant ended.
I remember going downstairs and crying to my family in health education. Jean Kumamoto, former health education director at Kaiser, said: “There is no way we are letting you go.” She called human resources and got me hired as a behavior specialist. Now I am with social medicine as Kaiser’s first health care navigator for our kupuna.
In 2023, with our three children, my husband and parents in the stands, they yelled “Mommy” as I finally received my bachelor of science degree from the University of Hawaii. The COVID-19 lockdown was the impetus to get working on it. That was one of the sweetest memories of my life.
Through my journey, there has been a lot of praise and worship, a lot of singing of “Be Not Afraid.” The chaplet of divine mercy and the rosary are also my constant go-to prayers.
In my work, I always ask God to make me a vessel. With every home I visit, I don’t know who I am going to see, or what the situation will be like. So, before I reach there, I ask God to protect and guide me and to use me as he will. I know he is the ultimate doctor and healer. He is the reason why I do what I do. There is no way I can be where I am without him.
Sheina Marie Querido Kekoa is a parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Ewa Beach and Holy Family Church in Honolulu.
