This is a Statewide RDP project which included a Molokai island component. Hawai’i Island RDP and the UH Hilo Office of Continuing Education & Training were instrumental as collaborators and mentors in the planning and implementing phases and assisted in supplies procurement, instructor hire, and travel.

Lifeguard Training

Molokai RDP retained trainer Duke Sevilla to conduct a CPR, Lifeguard & Lifeguard Instructor Training for seven (7) teenage recruits and three (3) lifeguards seeking advancement as instructors (LGI). With the advanced certification of these three (3) Molokai individuals, greater sustainability has been afforded on island in developing its own base of future lifeguards. The trainer was so impressed with the participants that he provided supplemental training to one of the newly certified LGI’s who is currently employed at the Cooke Memorial public pool run by the Maui County Molokai Parks and Recreation. This individual is now upgraded from an LGI to a Lifeguard Instructor Trainer (LGIT). This status qualifies him to certify more LGIs on Molokai. To date he has already re-certified one lifeguard and also serves as an authorized provider for two certified training centers for both the American Red Cross and American Heart Association. The training centers are located at the Cooke Memorial Pool and the Na Pu’uwai clinic. Through certification with both the American Red Cross and American Heart Association, these training centers provide complementary and supplementary CPR coverage, First Aid, Sports Medicine, Babysitting/Child care, Oxygen Administration, etc. Supplies purchased by RDP along with equipment and materials provided by American Red Cross and American Heart Association allow for continuous quality training within the community and help to keep training at low and affordable costs for residents, local employers and organizations. Some of the individuals and entities directly benefiting from these training centers include, but are not limited to the following: Little League coaches and other athletic personnel and sports volunteers; Department of Education teachers and other personnel; Molokai Youth Center workers; Babysitting and Childcare providers; Molokai Parks & Recreation employees; Airport personnel; and workers in the private sector.

The two (2) other LGIs trained under RDP’s program assist in providing training along with the new LGIT authorized provider at these training centers. One of these LGIs has taught a lifeguarding course and certified new LG recruits. This certification has also helped him professionally as a community advocate working with youth for the Queen Liliuokalani Children’s Center.

An LG who was certified under RDP’s training is an educator at the Molokai High School coordinating the innovative Natural Resources Academy pilot project. This project serves an estimated sixty (60), primarily at-risk youth. He has received professional development credit and as a lifeguard possesses the requisite credentials to supervise students engaged in ocean learning activities.

Two (2) of the youth trainees who were certified as lifeguards under RDP’s program were selected out of twelve (12) teenagers statewide to participate in the Kai Makana project. Kai Makana is a non-profit organization that promotes ocean awareness and conservation and engages in cultural and traditional ocean-related activities such as paddling to assist in its educational, mentorship, and community-based projects. One of the important criteria that factored into the selection of these teenagers included their lifeguard certification and ocean safety training.

One of the Molokai individuals selected dropped out for personal reasons, but the other continued with the program. She was enlisted by Kai Makana in a cultural program that included travel to Tahiti and Rapa Nui to conduct ocean awareness education, paddling at these locales, doing water quality testing and beach clean-up work. Upon return to Hawaii she undertook a community based project as a ho’iho’i or “give back” component of the program.

Police, Fire, and Certified Emergency Response Training

Trainees also attended a Firewise Workshop and visited the local police station as career exploration activities. Firefighter Greg Jenkins taught the Certified Emergency Response Training (CERT) to twelve (12) participants. Training foci included Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety, Disaster Medical Operations, Light Search & Rescue Operations, CERT Organization, Disaster Psychology, and Terrorism & CERT. A Disaster Simulation was used to allow participants an opportunity to practice their newly acquired skills.