Tweet
Re: Heard something that irked me...
One thing I noticed about the Big Island is it's large poor population and limited professional help to service them mainly in the rural areas. For many high school students, just graduating is a milestone. And when I hear some say they're getting their degree in something I praise them for sticking to it.
They say getting their Associates Degree was a monumental effort but now they're ready to hit the job force. Stunned I encourage them to continue with their 4-year degree but that vision is not within their sight.
With the Big Island's economy surging upwards, wages are beginning to rise as well especially in the Hilo market reducing the need for social services. Still, the poverty group is large here and it will take time for the reduction in their ranks to drop so the social sector can accomodate the most needy in an efficient manner.
As the local economy grows two things happen: 1) more moneies to help educate those less fortunate, and 2) those in need are serviced faster helping them get into jobs and off of subsidies.
Right now basic survival is the goal for many of the Big Island's rural families and when they overcome that hurdle, who the heck wants to stay? It seems the most prevailant jobs here are social services jobs yet it also has some of the highest turn over rates as outsiders come into this market but leave frustrated because of the "localness" of these parts.
It seems the answer may lie in the educating of these "locals" and help them help their own. But what happens when those in need are helped successfully? That's where our political and business leaders need to form some kind of alliance to provide economic support in the form of jobs for those who "climbed out of the bucket" of dispair and keeping them here to help bolster the economy.
Tough and maybe meaningless words for those graduating high school seniors who never was granted those lofty goals when they were younger, but it's not too late for the next generation of graduates to embrace that attitude. As we say, "our keiki are our future" and for those who are dependant on government subsidy for survival, hopefully their kids will be their salvation.
And that's why I love my wife so dearly. She took her education and is helping those families in rural areas get focused in education. She encourages her aides that work in Head Start for income to get their degrees so they may further their own vision of helping their own communities.
Living here and being exposed to many of East Hawaii's graduating seniors I encourage them to seek further education. It's amazing when a young man came up to me and asked me, "Craig how do you start your own business?" To me it's pretty straightforward and doable, but to him it was a dream he just didn't know how to turn to reality. With some help and guidance he's now a successful businessman here in Hilo. I see him once in a while and he tells me he wished he started this earlier in life.
Just a little encouragement got him going onto a bright future here in Hilo. I asked myself, "why can't our schools focus on goal setting like that and provide the tools to help our students here to develop a working plan for self-sufficiency". We do have programs here but we need more support from the working class and it's business leaders to encourage those less fortunate to stay and make effective changes in their lives. Thus the circle of enrichment blesses the next generation and the next. Pretty soon we have a world of achievers instead of a world of neglect.
When my wife and I moved here along with my kids, I never thought our stay here was going to impact those around us. But we've found a niche here and that's to help those who work and go to school along side us.
It's so rewarding to see families who once struggled, finding their own happiness from within. To me it was worth the move.
Now the sad part...we try very hard to encourage and support those willing to help themselves and even work harder for those who are so frustrated they can't help themselves. We need support too, it's not so much the money (wages here still lag behind Oahu and even Kona) but we need peer support. My wife had to go to a support workshop in Kona a couple of weeks ago. This group of talented educational experts got their thinking caps together to develop strategies for bettering the local communities they service. At the end of the two day workshop they cried because for once they were able to work amongst their peers who could appreciate their individual efforts in a collective manner. They got the much needed support to keep going with their vision of helping those less fortunate.
This is the kind of support social services administrators here on the Big Island need. After a while even the brightest become jaded with the frustrated attitudes here so it's so refreshing when you can reflect and sound off among those as intelligent as you where they understand and support your efforts. You come back to work with a renewed drive and stay focused on your goals.
It's a pioneering effort that has been ongoing for many years now here on the Big Island and those pioneers need some support so they can keep the brain drain from slipping away.
One thing I noticed about the Big Island is it's large poor population and limited professional help to service them mainly in the rural areas. For many high school students, just graduating is a milestone. And when I hear some say they're getting their degree in something I praise them for sticking to it.
They say getting their Associates Degree was a monumental effort but now they're ready to hit the job force. Stunned I encourage them to continue with their 4-year degree but that vision is not within their sight.
With the Big Island's economy surging upwards, wages are beginning to rise as well especially in the Hilo market reducing the need for social services. Still, the poverty group is large here and it will take time for the reduction in their ranks to drop so the social sector can accomodate the most needy in an efficient manner.
As the local economy grows two things happen: 1) more moneies to help educate those less fortunate, and 2) those in need are serviced faster helping them get into jobs and off of subsidies.
Right now basic survival is the goal for many of the Big Island's rural families and when they overcome that hurdle, who the heck wants to stay? It seems the most prevailant jobs here are social services jobs yet it also has some of the highest turn over rates as outsiders come into this market but leave frustrated because of the "localness" of these parts.
It seems the answer may lie in the educating of these "locals" and help them help their own. But what happens when those in need are helped successfully? That's where our political and business leaders need to form some kind of alliance to provide economic support in the form of jobs for those who "climbed out of the bucket" of dispair and keeping them here to help bolster the economy.
Tough and maybe meaningless words for those graduating high school seniors who never was granted those lofty goals when they were younger, but it's not too late for the next generation of graduates to embrace that attitude. As we say, "our keiki are our future" and for those who are dependant on government subsidy for survival, hopefully their kids will be their salvation.
And that's why I love my wife so dearly. She took her education and is helping those families in rural areas get focused in education. She encourages her aides that work in Head Start for income to get their degrees so they may further their own vision of helping their own communities.
Living here and being exposed to many of East Hawaii's graduating seniors I encourage them to seek further education. It's amazing when a young man came up to me and asked me, "Craig how do you start your own business?" To me it's pretty straightforward and doable, but to him it was a dream he just didn't know how to turn to reality. With some help and guidance he's now a successful businessman here in Hilo. I see him once in a while and he tells me he wished he started this earlier in life.
Just a little encouragement got him going onto a bright future here in Hilo. I asked myself, "why can't our schools focus on goal setting like that and provide the tools to help our students here to develop a working plan for self-sufficiency". We do have programs here but we need more support from the working class and it's business leaders to encourage those less fortunate to stay and make effective changes in their lives. Thus the circle of enrichment blesses the next generation and the next. Pretty soon we have a world of achievers instead of a world of neglect.
When my wife and I moved here along with my kids, I never thought our stay here was going to impact those around us. But we've found a niche here and that's to help those who work and go to school along side us.
It's so rewarding to see families who once struggled, finding their own happiness from within. To me it was worth the move.
Now the sad part...we try very hard to encourage and support those willing to help themselves and even work harder for those who are so frustrated they can't help themselves. We need support too, it's not so much the money (wages here still lag behind Oahu and even Kona) but we need peer support. My wife had to go to a support workshop in Kona a couple of weeks ago. This group of talented educational experts got their thinking caps together to develop strategies for bettering the local communities they service. At the end of the two day workshop they cried because for once they were able to work amongst their peers who could appreciate their individual efforts in a collective manner. They got the much needed support to keep going with their vision of helping those less fortunate.
This is the kind of support social services administrators here on the Big Island need. After a while even the brightest become jaded with the frustrated attitudes here so it's so refreshing when you can reflect and sound off among those as intelligent as you where they understand and support your efforts. You come back to work with a renewed drive and stay focused on your goals.
It's a pioneering effort that has been ongoing for many years now here on the Big Island and those pioneers need some support so they can keep the brain drain from slipping away.
Comment