Volunteers engage with Kupuna at Lunalilo Home for Mandela Day

By Janelle Guerrero-Miguel
HNN Summer Intern

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Hawaii State AFL-CIO organized a community service event to celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day with the Kupuna at the Lunalilo Home on Saturday.

Nelson Mandela Day is an annual day to honor the South African leader through volunteerism and community service.

Volunteers arrived early in the morning for a landscaping project.

"We've added benches and some seating areas for the Kupuna so that they can actually have more engagement and access to the outdoors and nature," Cathy Lederer, director of the Labor Community Service Program.

There were also games and a place where the seniors could get their nails done.

"I think the main thing is that they're getting engagement, we're showing them that the community cares about them," Lederer said.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union also participated. Students from Kalani High School and Maryknoll School were among the mix of volunteers.

The goal of the project is to not only help the seniors, but to also encourage the younger volunteers to keep the project going.

"What we're trying to do as well is get some other organizations to perpetuate what we're doing throughout the years," she said.

The Lunalilo Home was founded over 130 years ago and provides services to disadvantaged Kupuna of Hawaiian ancestry.

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