Local students spread seeds of aloha, peace

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau

KAILUA — Island coconuts spread messages of aloha from Lanikai Elementary School third- and fourth-graders to children in the Americas and Africa as part of a program that encourages students to reach out to one another.

EarthEvents, which sponsored Golden "Seeds" of Aloha, Messages of Peace, wants to expand the project statewide next year and send 400 more coconuts to children around the world, said Colleen Read, founder of the organization.

Using puppets such as Finley the tree frog, Freddy worm and Mango Man, EarthEvents taught 48 Lanikai children the importance of planting healthy seeds to grow beautiful trees and flowers, Read said. Taking the concept a step further, the organization asked students to plant a healthy thought to grow positive relationships. Their messages were sent to schools elsewhere in April.

"It was all about seed planting, and sharing your positive thoughts and how they grow," Read said. "And the kids got it."

Children provided their own coconuts, and the organization painted them gold. On April 3 the students added peace symbols, volcanos, surfboards and other local themes. Some wrote poems and others had one-word messages, said Tommy Lawrence, who just finished third grade at Lanikai.

On his coconut Tommy drew the Mokulua Islands off Lanikai Beach, along with a peace symbol and the word "peace." The project was unusual and more fun than expected, Tommy said.

"At first I thought it was going to be boring," he said, but that changed when he started to work. "I just felt good when you thought about what would happen as soon as they got the coconut," he said.

The students hope to hear from the coconut recipients once school resumes.

School Principal Donna Estomago said the project was about honoring and respecting one other and being appreciated. EarthEvents showed its appreciation of the children by asking them to personalize the seeds to help the organization spread love and aloha.

"More and more we want to have children who feel the importance of contribution, the importance of being a part of the weave of the community and being a nurturing part," Estomago said.

She recalled receiving unexpected banners and posters of support during the Persian Gulf War when she was at Mokapu Elementary School, on Kane'ohe Marine Corps Base Hawai'i. The banners and posters were sent by other schools whose students knew that many Mokapu kids had parents who were deployed to the Middle East.

Knowing that someone else is thinking of you, that you matter, was powerful, Estomago said, adding that EarthEvents fostered the same theme of caring for one another and that students could transmit positive energy to other communities.

Although its projects specialize in ecological, educational and cultural events for schools, the goal is to build self-esteem, said Read, past director of the Honolulu American Heart Association and past executive director of the Wyland Foundation.

"The main focus is always: Like who you are regardless of who you are and be happy that you're different and share your differences, because that is what a healthy community is all about," Read said. "Because that's our mission and our primary intention, we can really teach anything."

Asked what he learned from the coconuts project, Tommy replied: "You should show peace to everybody whether you have a coconut or not."