Books from closed school benefit Moloka'i students
By Will Hoover
Advertiser North Shore Writer
When Our Lady of Sorrows School in Wahiawa abruptly shut its doors last June because of declining enrollment, few people could have imagined how the closing would ever lead to a joyous outcome elsewhere.
But on Wednesday, when a Young Brothers ship delivers the school's entire inventory of textbooks — estimated to be worth $80,000 or more — to a tiny, impoverished school on Moloka'i, the outcome will be regarded as nothing short of a miracle.
"We're really excited," said Merry Kiyan, a teacher at Moloka'i's Kualapu'u School, a K-6 facility with 354 students, 82 percent of whom live on Hawaiian Homestead land. "We've inherited an entire school full of books. Everybody here is just thrilled."
Especially the students, she said.
"They cherish books. They haven't ever had new books — at least not in the 10 years I've been here. It would cost too much. We're really hurting for resources on the outside islands."
Had the story ended with the closing of Our Lady of Sorrows School, "It would have been a very, very sad story indeed," said Margaret Boyd, a member of the Parish Council at Star of The Sea, and a longtime friend of Father Clarence Fisher, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church.
But not long after the K-8 school closed, the tale took a curious twist, Boyd said.
"One evening I was having dinner with Father Fisher, and I asked him what he was going to do with all his beautiful textbooks. And he said he didn't know."
Boyd said it would be a shame if the books didn't find a good home. Fisher challenged her to find such a place, gave her a year to do it, and said he would donate the school's entire collection if she could.
When Boyd later mentioned the idea to Roger McCloskey, a friend and neighbor who lives in her apartment building, he suggested she contact his daughter, a first-grade teacher at Kualapu'u School on Moloka'i.
That teacher was Kiyan, who was ecstatic to hear about the offer last month. Kiyan immediately informed the school principal, Lydia Trinidad.
"She thought it was just a couple of books — you know, like maybe a box of books," said Kiyan. "And I said, no, it's an entire curriculum. And she asked how many boxes. And I said more than 200. And she said, 'Oh, my God!'"
In excess of 2,000 textbooks, a total of 264 boxes.
"You know textbooks are very expensive — like, $60 each — and they are giving us complete sets for each grade level of science, social studies, language arts, and — wow, it's just a huge blessing," said Kiyan.
By May 22 the effort had practically taken on a life of its own. That day Boy and Girl Scout troops from Star of The Sea, as well as other parishioners, began the task of packing hundreds of Our Lady of Sorrows textbooks — some of which weigh 15 pounds.
The Rotary Club of Wahiawa had arranged to get the necessary packing boxes from Atlas Van Lines. Because Kualapu'u students live on Hawaiian Homelands, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs offered to pay a moving company to haul the books from the school to the dock, where Young Brothers offered to ship the books to Moloka'i at no cost.
By June 5 the books were ready to go. Boyd said Our Lady of Sorrows is also sending its school uniforms to Moloka'i, because many of the students have few clothes.
"This is all thanks to Father Fisher and his generous heart," Boyd said.
The generosity of Our Lady of Sorrows will enable Kualapu'u School to give, too.
"Since we won't need them, we're going to send the seventh- and eighth-grade textbooks up to the Moloka'i Intermediate School," Kiyan said.
Reach Will Hoover at 525-8038 or whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.
