Seated, Frank De Lima, Rev. Teruo Kawata, Amy Agbayani. Standing, Sister Joan Chatfield, Janet Fujioka, Rev. Wally Fukunaga and Dr. Jeffrey Acido. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Kawamoto)
By Kevin Kawamoto
Special to the Herald
Hawaii Catholic comedian Frank De Lima was honored with a Puakaana o ka la (Rise Up!) Award at the seventh annual Journeys to Wellness gathering Oct. 13 at the Community Church of Honolulu in Nuuanu.
The interfaith event was sponsored by the Sunrise Foundation.
Endorsed by Maryknoll Sister Joan Chatfield, De Lima was recognized for his more than 30 years entertaining local residents and tourists, as well as for his work in the schools as founder of the Frank De Lima Student Enrichment Program. The program serves more than 160 elementary and middle and intermediate schools throughout the state using comedy to promote learning, wellness and leadership. It takes De Lima two years to visit all the schools.
In introducing the entertainer, Sister Joan invoked the importance of humor in remaining resilient through difficult times. “If we didn’t have humor,” she said, “neither of us would be here today.”
After accepting his award, De Lima had the audience in stitches as he recounted stories from his childhood that contributed to his deep appreciation for Hawaii’s multi-cultural communities. On a more serious note, he said that he stresses three things to the students he talks to in the schools: “Get smarter. Get healthier. Be kinder.”
“A kind person,” he said, “will live a wonderful life. Everything else will fall into place.”
Along with De Lima, other recipients of the award this year were Amy Agbayani, a civil rights advocate and retired University of Hawaii leader in student diversity, and Rev. Dr. Teruo Kawata, a longtime minister in the United Church of Christ, who has served communities in the areas of social justice and peace.
The Sunrise Foundation is an interfaith, intercultural and intergenerational non-profit organization focused on life enrichment and integrative wellness of the body, mind and spirit.
