Kids aid tsunami relief, a single penny at a time
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
KALIHI — Eight-year-old Kalihi resident Jessica Valdez doesn't understand undersea earthquakes or tsunamis or the logistics of relief work in developing countries.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
But like many children, she sees the effects of the Indian Ocean tsunami on TV, flickering images of devastation and despair, and she knows that somewhere children her age are hungry and homeless.
Ka'iulani School third-grade students Kristen Tanoura, Jessica Valdez and Kurtis Martin are among the children from their school who are collecting pennies to help the Indian Ocean tsunami victims. Their goal is to collect 1 million pennies; right now, they are up to 51,600 of the copper coins.
"They have no house and that's not fair," said Valdez, who lives with her parents in Kalihi. "I have to help the people."
Valdez and her schoolmates at Ka'iulani School in Kalihi were so moved by the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed more than 150,000 people from South Asia to Africa that they vowed to donate every penny they could find to relief efforts.
Literally.
For the past week, students at the school have used all available means to get their tiny hands on as many pennies as possible. The goal is to collect one million one-cent pieces, or $10,000. After a week of collection, the school has raised $516 or 51,600 pennies.
"We need some community help," said Charlotte White, Ka'iulani's principal.
All the pennies will be donated to the United Nations Children's Fund.
Efforts to raise money for victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami are not unique: millions of people around the world have donated money, food, clothing, and medicine to victims of the disaster. But sometimes, it is those with the least to give that are the most willing to help.
About 375, or 85 percent, of Ka'iulani School's 441 students live below the poverty line, White said, but you'd never know it by the way the kids have embraced the fund-raiser.
Donations can be made in pennies, cash or checks at Ka'iulani School's library at 783 N. King St. Checks can be made payable to Ka'iulani School. All donations go directly to the United Nations Children's Fund. For more information, call principal Charlotte White at 832-3160.
"It's good to help people that survived," said Kurtis Martin, an 8-year-old who lives in Mayor Wright Homes.
Pennies for tsunami victims
The kids are on a mission. They find pennies in the grass on the playground, on the side of the road while they walk to school, and in the pockets of adults who can't seem to resist a kid with an outstretched hand.
"This is for the tsunami victims that I have to help," is what Valdez tells neighbors, friends, and family members just before hitting them up for all the pennies they have.
Couple her tiny voice and benevolent request with the fact that she smiles every time she speaks and you have a solicitor's dream.
In the morning, as cars crawl their way past the school on King Street, students stand with teachers near the street accepting pennies via hand-held fishing nets extended toward car windows. White and officials with the Department of Education are working to rally community support for the effort.
"Seeing it over and over again can be traumatic for children," said White. "This is something positive that they can do."
Teachers at the school have worked the penny collection into the curriculum. Classes now include segments discussing the history of the minting process or overviews of popular music selections that focus on pennies.
On display in the school's library, the stacks of rolled up copper coins form a makeshift pyramid on a stage against the building's back wall. At the moment, the pile is manageable, but one million pennies weighs about 3 tons, and that could get dicey, White said.
"We'll need a truck," she said, laughing.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
