By the end of the half-day session, the duly certified "ambassadors of aloha" had learned everything from how to fill out case summaries to the best way to deal with honeymooners who have just had their wedding photos ripped off.

"There are bad people in the world, and there always will be," said VASH president Jessica Lani Rich. "Even the Garden of Eden had a snake."

When those bad things occur, Rich's teams steps in to turn the negative into a positive. It isn't always easy. They deal with victims who have been robbed, mugged, cheated and mistreated; folks whose friends have gone missing, or been hospitalized, or even died.

The organization is little known to most visitors who come to Hawai'i without incident. But for the thousands who have been touched by it — more than 2,000 last year — VASH may be the their most lasting memory of Hawai'i.

"We serve as a clearinghouse for visitors who have been traumatized, Rich said.

Among other horror stories, she spoke about the time she got a call from a screaming-mad Australian who was concluding an around-the-world trip in Honolulu only to have his rented car burglarized in Chinatown.

"I come to Hawai'i and you steal from me!" ranted the man who had lost his money, tickets, credit cards, identification papers, clothes and bags.

Rich and her VASH volunteers flew into action — providing a quality room in a Waikiki hotel, spending cash, clothing, food vouchers, prepaid phone cards and just about anything else the man needed during the time it took them to secure a new passport so he could fly home. Rich personally drove him to the airport.

Before he left he told her the people of Hawai'i had been so thoughtful that he planned on volunteering for a similar organization Down Under — and if he couldn't find one, he'd start one himself.

VASH is a nonprofit organization paid for by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority and augmented by generous donations made by the hotel industry, restaurants and other organizations.

According to Rich, Hawai'i may be "paradise" to most folks, but when a visitor here gets robbed or worse, the experience is sheer hell.

"That one visitor is not just one visitor," she told the would-be volunteers. "That visitor is a hundred people."

Volunteer coordinator Cindy Chun told the newcomers: "This is very rewarding work. There's something happening all the time. It can be exhausting work ... but when I get up every morning, I'm ready to do it again."

"I was there before VASH, and I know firsthand what a difference they've made," said veteran Waikiki police officer Tim Ryan, one of the volunteer trainers. "When you get involved, you'll see what a difference you'll make out there."

"I can't say enough about VASH," echoed trainer Mari McCaig, who represents the city prosecutor's Visitor Assistance Program, a pilot project that offers quick response and crisis counseling for visiting crime victims. "This is an incredible service."

Bea Elyot was one of several volunteers who expressed their appreciation for being allowed the opportunity to give of their time.

"I have to admit I feel a little bit ashamed," Elyot said. "I know everyone talks about how much this helps visitors. But I feel that this is a gratification for me."

Added newly certified Ambassador of Aloha Barbara Rodriguez, "I'm amazed by what this organization does. I didn't know about it."

As a new VASH volunteer, Rodriguez is about to find out the magic of transforming misfortune into smiles, promised Rich.

"The language of the heart is a special thing," she said.