As a teenager, Aiko Medeiros didn’t attend prom. Her family grew up in poverty and her parents died young — they were among the more than 100 casualties of the 1946 tsunami. ADVERTISING As a teenager, Aiko Medeiros didn’t attend
As a teenager, Aiko Medeiros didn’t attend prom. Her family grew up in poverty and her parents died young — they were among the more than 100 casualties of the 1946 tsunami.
“When I grew up, there was no such thing as a prom,” Medeiros, a lifelong Hilo resident, recalled. “Everybody was so poor. The only thing they thought about was, ‘What’s on the table?’”
So Medeiros, now 90, was thrilled Wednesday to take part in her very first formal prom. She was among more than 20 elderly residents of the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home who attended the Masquerade Ball, a one-hour prom filled with dancing and entertainment led by local high school students.
“Everybody looks so pretty,” Medeiros said Wednesday night as she eyed her fellow residents mingling and dancing with the students.
The ball was organized by 17-year-old Ronelle Kahanuolaikealomahina Valera as her senior “legacy” project requirement. Valera, a senior at Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, said she was researching project ideas early in the school year and wanted to organize an activity that would benefit East Hawaii kupuna.
Valera said she spent months coordinating with Yukio Okutsu staff, preparing the evening’s activities and enlisting volunteer help from more than a dozen of her school peers and friends.
“I love helping people and I love, love, love senior citizens,” Valera said. “And they never ever get something like this. A lot of them are in homes for various reasons, maybe they don’t have family (nearby) or maybe this is their last place. So I wanted to give them a place to interact not only with each other, but my peers.”
“I get excited about prom,” she continued.
“So I wanted to show them that excitement and youth.”
In accordance with the theme, Valera and her peers provided veterans with prom attire and bedazzled ball masks. Several teens performed musical numbers and dances for the residents, who watched with smiles as they enjoyed refreshments.
“I think this is very cute and creative,” said Shaina Domingo, a 15-year-old Waiakea High School sophomore and friend of Valera who was invited to help the day before. “It’s very different and I’m glad someone went out and put something like this together.”
Two residents were dubbed prom queen and king — among them, resident Ramon Abong, 92, who said he most enjoyed dancing with the students. When the John Denver classic “Leaving on a Jet Plane” began playing, Abong pumped his arms in the air and grooved in his wheelchair with the youth.
Abong, who hails from a family of musicians, said he appreciated the students making time to volunteer.
“I think it really helps,” Abong said.
Valera said she hopes a future Kamehameha senior will assume the prom project next year. Ultimately, she hopes to see the event become a yearly tradition.
“I really wanted to leave my legacy,” Valera said. “I hope someone else takes this on and continues to give back to the senior (citizens).”
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
