Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 5, 1 May 2004 — Trustees ignore youth [ARTICLE]

Trustees ignore youth

The April 2004 issue of Ka Wai Ola was one of the most disgusting issues of lies and betrayal by the trustees on the present OHA Board. I am here in Los Angeles, attending UCLA. I did not receive any

scholarships or financial help for tuition, books, housing, and of course for emergency expenses. Yes, I had applied many times during my high school years to Kamehameha Schools, Alu Like, OHA, the State Council of Hawaiian Homesteaders Assoc., and many various nonHawaiian Scholarships. Finally, the Institutional Advancement for Low ineome Families for Higher Education awarded me $1,500.00 to be used ONLY for entrance exam into a four-year higher educational program in Los Angeles. The reason why I am angry about the April issue of Ka Wai Ola is the salary increase for all the present trustees. This made me feel that all the OHA trustees are careless about Hawaiian youths. There are many young Hawaiians trying to gain some respect, by endurance, on their own. I never felt so mueh distance from the people of Hawaiian leadership for ignoring other young Hawaiians in this same fate. I am now a senior in engineering, and still working to provide for my education and helping my dear Hawaiian family in Maui. I want truly to take my mama and sisters "out of poverty" of the Hawaiian Homestead lifestyle. No future, no hope, no encouragement of any kind, living like animals on Homestead lands. I will endure, I will remain in California. I am ashamed of my Hawaiian background. "Liki Boi" t'rom Maui