Manuwai won't forget his past

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The words iced his cheeks.

Your father is here.

Vince Manuwai is appreciative of the support he's gotten. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

After a while, he opened the front door of his Kuhio Park Terrace apartment and approached his past. Soon, Manuwai was face-to-face with the man who abandoned his family, a stranger he had not seen since he was 6, nine winters earlier.

"I was in shock," Manuwai said. "Some people in my situation would get mad. Some people would say, 'Where have you been?' "

But Manuwai did the only thing he could do, the only thing that felt right. He hugged Stewart Vaefaga, then whispered, "I love you, Dad." "He's a good guy," Manuwai said. "The life he was raised in ... that's the life he lived. He made a lot of mistakes. But I can't blame him or judge him. Who am I to judge anyone? So many people have helped me. Where would I be if people didn't help me? Where would he be if people helped him?"

Manuwai, who is 6-foot-2 and 284 pounds of iron will, melted when he counted his blessings. He spoke of his love and appreciation for his girlfriend, their 7-month-old daughter, his girlfriend's 4-year-old son and her parents.

"They treat me like a son," Manuwai said of his future in-laws.

They feed him, wash his clothes and, every morning, battle traffic jams and construction projects to drop off Manuwai at UH by 6.

"Imagine that drive from Kahalu'u every day," Manuwai said. "My girlfriend's mother never complains. She won't let me pay rent. I'm very grateful."

Smoke got in his eyes when he spoke of his uncle, James Manuwai, his mother's brother. It was seven years ago during a vacation trip when Manuwai, then living in Virginia with his mother, begged to remain in Hawai'i.

"I didn't want to go back to Virginia," Manuwai recalled. "I didn't like the lifestyle there."

James Manuwai saw the sadness in his nephew's eyes and the illogic in his Virginia report card. Vince Manuwai was promoted to the eighth grade despite work that was marked with Fs.

Living at KPT

It was decided that Vince Manuwai would live with his uncle in Kuhio Park Terrace, a publicly subsidized housing project in Kalihi. James Manuwai, a once promising athlete who dropped out of Farrington High in the 11th grade, knew of the area's temptations.

"I never wanted him to be like I was," said James Manuwai, who now owns a home-repair business on the Big Island. "I hung around with the wrong crowd. I didn't have any guidance. A lot of bad things happened in my life."

James Manuwai placed his nephew on a strict schedule of studies and sports. As a maintenance supervisor for a housing complex, James Manuwai had little extra money. Still, he bought his nephew plate lunches after every practice, as well as clothes and shoes.

"We didn't have much money, but he made sacrifices for me," Vince Manuwai said. "That's why I'm working so hard now."

He also felt the tug of a community that viewed him as a role model.

"The gang members used to tell me, 'You're representing KPT. Don't forget where you came from,' " he said. "I'll never forget the people there. To me, KPT gets a bad rap. I think it's discrimination against people who don't have money. But the people in KPT work hard, and they want to get their families out. I'm glad I came from there."

But the dream was nearly still-born. In his first semester at UH in 1999, Manuwai amassed a 1.2 grade-point average and was placed on academic probation. He again turned to his uncle, who advised, "You can do anything you want to do."

Academic success

Manuwai, the Warriors' best offensive lineman, earned a 3.0 GPA in each of his next three semesters. Last May, he was invited to a breakfast for student-athletes who qualified for the honor roll.

"I think everybody looked at me like, 'What are you doing here? Are you in the wrong place?' " Manuwai said, smiling. "I was happy for that award. I took that certificate and put it up, so it's the first thing I see when I wake up. Now, for the first time, I can see myself as a student."

He said his father, now serving jail time in Oregon, writes regularly, starting each letter with an apology and ending with an expression of pride.

"He always writes, 'Son, I know I can't make up for the things I missed out on ...' " Manuwai said. "I don't try to keep him away from me. I love him, and am glad he's my father. He gave me life. But other people taught me how to live, like my uncle."

Manuwai sends presents to his uncle on Father's Day. "He did most of the dad stuff with me," Manuwai said.

In the cycle of life, it is Manuwai now who makes sacrifices. He wears a lava-lava or school-issued T-shirts and shorts. "I don't need a lot," he said.

What's left from his scholarship check and grant from Kamehameha Schools (although he graduated from Farrington, he qualifies because he is part-Hawaiian), Manuwai spends on his family.

"It's not much," he said.

Then he vowed, "Even if I don't make it to the NFL, even if I'm working a regular job after I graduate, I'm going to spend the rest of my life making it up to the people who helped me."