A group of Samoan and New Zealander cyclists visiting Hawaii Island last week on an awareness-raising mission lost their passports, money and personal belongings Thursday when someone broke into a van belonging to Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii, or PATH.
A group of Samoan and New Zealander cyclists visiting Hawaii Island last week on an awareness-raising mission lost their passports, money and personal belongings Thursday when someone broke into a van belonging to Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii, or PATH.
The group, called USO, or Understand, Strengthen and Overcome, had stopped at Kua Bay Thursday afternoon after a Mauna Kea and Waikoloa bike ride, PATH Director Tina Clothier said Monday. While they were there, someone broke the PATH van’s passenger window and removed everything the group had with them, from clothes and tablets to toiletries. That night, Clothier contacted the New Zealand Consulate on Oahu and got information on how the three traveling couples could apply for new passports.
They sent the expedited application forms to California on Friday, in hopes of getting the paperwork back this week, Clothier said.
The group is on Oahu now, completing their project there. They were able to fly interisland using documentation from the Hawaii Police Department, Clothier said.
“The police were just fabulous,” she added. “They were very thorough. They dusted the van for fingerprints. They were compassionate.”
The island’s Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii chapter also pitched in, providing toiletries and other items for the travelers.
“It was very sad that this happened,” Clothier said, adding that everyone she and the travelers encountered worked to help them overcome the incident.
According to PATH, the group came to ride around Hawaii Island. They chose the acronym “USO” to represent themselves because it means brother in Samoan.
“The message is that men need to take care of themselves in order to be strong for their families and their communities,” a press release said. “Bicycling is the way the USO riders stay fit and healthy and their journey has taken them across all of New Zealand as well as the islands of Samoa.”
The group shared their story with groups across the island, and they stayed with PATH members and friends.
Email Erin Miller at emiller@westhawaii today.com.