Page 5 - MidWeek West - Nov 3, 2021

NOVEMBER 3, 2021 5
T hree years ago, my dad’s job brought us to O‘ahu. I was look- ing forward to the move as I heard that Hawai‘i is a beauti- ful place — paradise, as some will say. We settled in the Waipi‘o Gentry area, being close to shopping, the free- way, and large parks nearby with walking and bike trails. It was perfect. I can still re- member flying into Honolulu and being amazed at the sight of the beautiful mountains, forests and oceans below. It wasn’t until we landed and left the airport, the roads were littered with trash, the grass was brown and dying, and the trees looked sickly. This was not the paradise I had envi-
bottles, plastic bags, cigarette butts and more trash poison- ing our oceans, parks and communities. I was in Boy Scouts and was raised to re- spect the Earth and do my best to protect it. To value family, community and to help when and where I can. I want to pre- serve this island’s beauty for the children and future gener- ations. I thought, what could I do to make it better? So, I did what anyone would and got to work.
one point. Eventually, a friend told me about this amazing group called 808 Cleanups (808cleanups.org). They help all of Hawai‘i. I immediately joined. It is awesome seeing other volunteers go out and do what they can to clean up our beaches, remove fishing line from our oceans, and save our island and its beauty. But still, we are a small group and can only do so much.
PHO & Co
Old Kapolei Movie Theater 890 Kamokila Blvd #104 (808) 692-9833
PHO & Co Kapolei Marketplace 590 Farrington Hwy #514 (808) 674-1828
FREE 32OZ. DRINK!
WHEN YOU CHECK IN ON YELP! OR FACEBOOK WITH PURCHASE OF (1) ENTRÉE.
(NOT COMBINABLE WITH ANY OTHER OFFER)
Mahalo For Your Support!
PANSIT
PORK ADOBO
$49.99
LECHO
N
ELENA’S PACK
SPECIA
A
L
L
GISANTE
+
ES
S
S
+8 Scoops of Rice OPEN
for Take Out
94-866 Moloalo St. #D4A Waipahu, HI 96797
(808)676-8005
Hours: 7:00a-7:45p Last Order
+
SARI SARI
PORK ADOBO FRIED RICE OMELETTE
T
OriginalinFine
T
T
T
T
T
Th
h
h
h
he
e
e
e
eO
O
O
O
F
F
Fi
i
i
ilipinoFoods F
sioned.
Almost everywhere I
Armed with a trash bag and gloves, I started pick- ing up trash around my lo- cal community. I would go down the Waipi‘o bike trail, along the roads surrounding our development and pick up trash. You would be surprised at the amount there is! I even found parts of an engine at
To quote Dr. Seuss, “Un- less someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” If you care about your com- munity, the land or the envi- ronment, then we can’t just wait for someone else to come and solve our problems. It might seem insurmountable by yourself, but you are not alone. Together, we are ‘oha-
The author (pictured) picks up trash around the Westside. PHOTO COURTESY MICHAEL SARRAFIAN
na and we can protect this is- land. I want to see this island’s beauty preserved for our chil- dren and future generations.
– Eric Sarrafian, Waipi‘o Gentry
looked there were plastic
Mahalo Nui Loa
FOR YOUR SUPPORT
NOVEMBER 6–13 (ONLINE)
FREE • EDUCATIONAL • FUN www.leeward.hawaii.edu/fair
It’s the 31st annual Leeward Discovery Fair! This year, we will be online with a variety of educational, hands-on activities that can be done at home! Get your ‘ohana together and visit our website to enter a world of interactive exploration. And, remember...
Discovery begins at Leeward!
A special mahalo to
Jake Shimabukuro
Brain Banter Build your own neuron and learn how to fire things up!
and Esme Infante for promoting our fair!
WIN GREAT PRIZES!