Saint Louis' class of '48 chipping in
By Kalani Wilhelm
Advertiser Staff Writer
Members of the St. Louis High School class of 1948, wanting to do something special to commemorate their 55th graduation anniversary, have created a computer recycling program that will help an entire community.
Photo courtesy of Herman Hu
Class members will repair and upgrade more than 80 old or nonworking computers donated by the U.S Postal Service, Chaminade University and Regal Travel.
Robert Hutchison, left, and John Loggins, 1948 graduates of St. Louis High, help restore computers.
The refurbished machines will be given to low-income housing families in Palolo Valley and other areas on O'ahu.
"This is our way of helping the immigrants and poor families living in Palolo Valley to help themselves make better and more productive lives in Hawai'i," said class chairman Robert Hutchison.
"We come from a fortunate generation," said Hutchison, 73. "It's time to pass along what we can to a generation that has been ignored for a long time."
Saint Louis alumnus Herman Hu's fascination with computers led him to take a class on the Mainland that covered everything from computer refurbishing to recycling. The class, offered by the Maryland-based Lazarus Foundation, has provided computer training to more than 800 senior citizens in the past decade.
Hu, who waited two years because of high demand for the class, said he paid more than $2,000 to attend the workshop in Maryland.
Thus the idea for the Palolo recycling project was born.
"I just saw the tremendous possibilities for people in Hawai'i," Hu said.
Hu and other members of the Saint Louis Alumni Association are working with the Mutual Assistance Associations Center in Palolo Valley, a nonprofit organization that helps immigrants in low-income housing adjust to the social and economic environment of Hawai'i. The center provides children in the area with a place to go if their parents can't afford to pay for A-Plus afterschool care, said Hu, who was recently named MAAC president.
Hu and the alumni association arranged for the Lazarus Foundation to come to Hawai'i to provide the training and put the recycling project on a fast track.
Through $8,000 in donations raised by the alumni association, 20 people — Saint Louis alumni and Palolo public housing residents — will be able to take part in a weeklong program that will teach them how to install and repair a hard drive, CD-Rom and DVD drives, sound card, modems and more. The money will pay the $400 class fee for each student and also provide five Palolo residents with free training.
Training will begin Oct. 27.
MAAC director Pathana Rattanasamay, who will also take part in the computer classes, said the Class of '48's help is welcome not only for the center but the community as well. "Many of the kids thought only rich people own computers," Rattanasamay said. "More computers means more learning for everyone in Palolo."
In order for a family to qualify for a computer, a family member must have current or previous involvement in the MAAC or Palolo District Park.
The MAAC computer lab has 16 computers that students and residents can use daily, well short of what the community needs. Three computers have been donated to MAAC, and three more are ready for donation to needy families.
Following the training, many of the seniors and community members will pass along what they've learned to the youth of Palolo, volunteering at MAAC to provide afterschool mentoring and tutoring.
"I like to tinker with things, so I'm very excited to get started," said alumnus John Loggins, who noted that the slide rule was the only technological advance that existed when he was a child. "At our age we need to keep moving. I'm too young to retire."
Until training begins, alumni members meet once a week to discuss the project and catch up on old times — further tightening a bond that has lasted for more than half a century. Said Loggins: "Every week is like a reunion."
