The Academy’s seniors visited Leahi Hospital for their division service project to aid hospital residents at the Spring Fling Carnival on Mar.19.

Leahi Hospital is a hospital, nursing home and adult day care center for over 150 adults.

Formerly called the Honolulu Hospital of Incurables, the hospital was founded to care for victims of the bubonic plague, tuberculosis and other incurable diseases. With the decline of tuberculosis since the 1960s, Leahi Hospital primarily focuses on long-term care for the elderly.

Hospital festivities coordinators divided the 115 members of the Senior Class into two groups, each with its own assignments for the fair. The groups switched from entertaining and transporting residents during the festivity to running the games.

“I was in the first group paired with one of the residents. He always had a positive attitude and would wave to people who passed in the hallway!” said senior Tiffany Lau. “The smile he had when we played the games and when we cheered for him was just memorable.”

Despite some challenges, seniors enjoyed the time with the residents.

Senior Kiara Moad said, “Even though my resident was deaf and it was challenging to communicate with her, her reactions to the games showed me that she was enjoying herself while I was taking her around. My favorite moments happened every time she gave up and I had to motivate her to keep trying. When she would get it right, she had the biggest smile on her face.”

The service activity proved to be worthwhile for students as well as residents.

“My resident was definitely very outgoing and he had so much fun seeing students at the stations because it showed him how caring the youth is. When we wheeled him back to his floor, he continued to thank us and it touched me so much. It gave me a sense of accomplishment to give these residents a fun time to enjoy life more than staying in their rooms,” said senior Gabrielle Del Rosario.

The success of the project at Leahi Hospital is encouraging for the Theology department which wants to continue with its theme-based curriculum.

“I thought it was a great learning experience because it is one that we usually don’t think about. Through this project, I think we gained more respect for the elderly through the one-on-one interaction,” said Lau.

“It was nice to see that we could come together as a class and put away our differences for one day to work together to make the residents happy,” said Moad. “I really appreciate how the teachers were able to organize this project because it is hard to get into community service with the elderly in care homes.”

“I would definitely go back to volunteer again,” said Del Rosario. “It helped me to grow into a more considerate, patient and kind individual. I feel like if I go to help out again, then I can experience that same feeling of happiness when caring for someone else.”