Update: 10:21AM Hosanna Kabakoro is a Fijian teenager living in the United States of America whose name is now etched into the annals of Fiji history. She first unwittingly came into the media's radar last year when she received a US Congressional Bronze Award.
This month she was one of the two youths named Idaho's Top Youth Volunteer by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a national program that encourages volunteerism.
This puts her in the running for America's Top 10 Volunteers for 2009, which will declared when the best two of each US State converge at Washington DC in May.
In June, she will receive a Congressional Gold Award. From her list of volunteer efforts, it was her formulation of the TARTUR that drew most applause.
So who is this 16-year-old who has inadvertently become a shining ambassador for her island homeland that's a massive 9534 kilometres away?
Her father, Ratu Lavisai Kabakoro, and her mum, Summer, are originally from Naweni in Cakaudrove and Hawaii, respectively. Hosanna will begin her senior year in secondary school in September.
She is also studying at the College of Southern Idaho. She was permitted to start on courses to her desired degree (she's called a dual credit student) because she had consistently scored high marks in her studies.
The family migrated to the US three years ago following an injustice during the 2000 coup that saw their home and investments claimed by some village men.
This traumatic experience and the desire to help her foster better governance in Fiji are in fact some of the reasons she wishes to become either a lawyer or a parliamentarian.
"I realised through that experience that each of us have the same choices to make," she shared. "No matter who we are or where we are from, how rich or poor, how educated or not, each of us has to decide how we spend our lives. Will we be people who hurt or people who heal? I decided when I was 13 that I wanted to be a person that healed, who helped others get healing and hope. I know it might sound corny but it really is true."
She wants to "serve Fiji in a more effective way" some day.
Here are extracts from the online conversation with Hossana:
Q: When did you become a volunteer?
When I was a little girl living in Naweni village, my parents started a kindy and a free medical clinic. I used to help my mom count medication and sort books for the kids to read. As the years went on, volunteering became a way of life for me. When we moved to Idaho, my mom told me I would experience major changes in culture, friendship and language. She said I could choose to feel sorry for myself by sitting around missing my cousin and best friend, Mere, or I could make an effort to connect to our new home by volunteering at places like our local library, pregnancy crisis center, animal shelter and retirement communities. I chose the latter and have never regretted my decision!
Q: What do you like the best about it?
A: Jesus said that good leaders must first learn to serve others. Volunteering allows me to serve others with dignity. I love the sense of identity I get from volunteering and I love knowing that I make a positive difference in the lives of people in my community.
Q: Can you share one of the most challenging aspects of being a volunteer and how do you overcome it?
A: You do not get paid! It is kind of hard when you realise other kids are working at McDonalds or KFC and bringing home a paycheck. I just tell myself that I will have all my adult life to bring home the bacon so I might as well just "chillax" and not stress about it.
Q: TARTUR. Can you elaborate on how you became involved in its formulation?
A: When I moved here, a 16 year old at my church met a guy online who said he was a 16 yr old from Israel and that he was coming to Idaho to see a Cold Play concert. He asked her to meet him in Boise which is 2 hours away. She lied to her parents and went to the concert and when she met him, he turned out to be 28 and from Oregon. He asked her to to a hotel with him. She had to call her parents to come get her. I felt sorry for her because she was so nave to believe him and I saw that there were kids as young as 6 years old with cell phones, and internet access to My Space and Facebook and chatrooms and that not all parents were like mine. Not all kids were educated on how to stay safe and use technology safely so I researched safe technology use and began speaking to church youth groups, Girl and Boy Scout Troops, schools and other groups about how to use the internet, cell phones, cameras, videos etc safely and wisely.
Q: How does it feel to be a Top High School Volunteer for Idaho?
A: Honestly, I was flabbergasted when the special delivery letter arrived! I didn't even know I had been nominated! When I learned that I won a USD$1000 (FJD$1841) State prize and a trip back to Washington D.C. to compete for US$10,000 (FJD18,410) I felt relieved. University costs money and I need every penny I can get my hands on since I am taking dual classes at both the secondary level and University level this fall!
Q: What else do you want to achieve this year?
A: I guess that what makes it so exciting! I plan to attend Girl's State which is a national camp for young women interested in politics, law and government. I am also hoping to fly back to D.C. in June to receive my US Congressional Gold Award and spend some time with Fiji's Charge d'affaire, Mr Peni Lomaloma and his wonderful family! I should also be receiving my Girl Scouts Gold Award later this year for my work with refugees. Later in the year, I have been asked to participate in the Miss America Outstanding Teen Competition so I am considering doing that as well. Most of all, I hope to serve as an encouragement to other young people, especially in Fiji, that we need to use our collective voices to better our communities, and to serve where needed! I hope to challenge other youth to make their lives count for something. Sitting around drinking beer, partying, gulping grog, watching TV, and listening to music is easy. But it wont get you anywhere in life. Life is shorter than it appears when you are just 16, and I intend to make every second of my life count while encouraging and empowering other youth to do the same!
Q: Can you share at least two wonderful experiences you've had through volunteering?
A: I met my BFF, (Best Friend Forever) here in Idaho, when I volunteered at our local library the first month we lived here! We have been friends ever since and have supported each other through good times and not so good times. Her family includes two other sisters who are best friends with Selah, and her parents who are now my parents best friends! We wouldn't know them if it hadn't been for me volunteering at the library! I was one of just 30 students appointed to serve in the U.S. Senate because I volunteered to intern at a local congressional office. I got to meet President Obama, then Vice President Cheney, Senator John McCain and the US Olympic Gold Medalists! I got to visit the Viet Nam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the Library of Congress.the most amazing library I have ever been in!
Q: What was it like meeting Obama?
A: President Obama, (he was a Senator when I met him,) was polite. I was surprised he won the election because he was the least experienced Senator in the chamber. I support him because he is the elected President of the United States, but I felt if America wanted an African American president, there were much better qualified people like Condy Rice, Michael Steele etc. I am waiting to see what happens with this young persident and wondering when we will see the Change he promised us. So far, it looks like the same old political mumbo jumbo, but we will have to wait and see. I believe racism of any kind is a death blow to mankind. Not electing someone based on race is just as bad as electing someone based on race.
Q: What are your career goals and how are you preparing for it?
A: I am currently working toward an Associate degree in Education and hope to return to Fiji to earn my Law Degree at USP. I want to serve my home country of Fiji by promoting true democracy, truth and justice for ALL. The associate degree is so that I can work as a teacher while I obtain my degree in law if necessary.
Q: What about your long-term goals?
A: I plan to study here and then return to Fiji and study Law at USP to work as a lawyer, and someday, I hope more than anything, to improve democracy in Fiji, by being elected by the people to serve them in parliament or be appointed as an ambassador to either the U.S., Japan, Korea or Australia.
Q: How do you define the role of a parliamentarian?
A: I believe any elected government official should be the representative of those people she serves. In other words, it is not the role of a Parliamentarian to push her own agenda, or to try to get rich off the position, or use her contacts or power for her own end. The proverb about "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" comes to mind. The role of a parliamentarian is to be a servant of the people. I would LOVE to see an elected offical riding th same bus I ride, or standing in line at the bank etc.....!
Q: What and who are the main influences in your life? And why?
A: The main influences in my life have been my parents who have raised me to glorify God in everything I do, and who brought me up with a Biblical worldview. I am so thankful for their firm, loving advice and I owe them everything! Also. My grandfather, Ratu Tevita Kabakoro who first taught me about servant leadership and who always took time to encourage and challenge me in my pursuits.
Q: Do you miss Fiji? What do you miss the most about Fiji?
A: Fiji is my home. I love Idaho but my heart will always be home in Ca'audrove. I miss the sound of the ocean crashing on the reef at night and the smell of the primus when my Nana makes us tea. I miss coconut oil and Punjas Tea and Breakfast crackers and jalebi and the fish and chips from the place on Cummings Street. I miss the gang at the Copra Shed in Savusavu. I miss swimming in a sea so blue and clean it makes your heart hurt, and I miss bu and ivi and my family and friends like Sister Joseph at St Anne's. Most of all, I miss knowing that no matter what, I have a home and a village that love me and that will always be there for me.
Q: Briefly tell me about your family's terrible experience during the 2000 coup?
A: Our home and medical clinic deep in Cakaudrove are pretty isolated. A group of men had wanted our house and land for a long time so when the coup happened they used it as an excuse to take our house. They showed up wearing shirts on their heads with cane knives, barb wired our compound and poured kerosene all over and threatened to burn us if we didn't leave. We left and the men took our house and after that we tried to get the police but they said it was an NLTB problem and NLTB said it was a police matter so then finally one of them was arrested and just before he was supposed to be sentenced he asked if he could call and apologise and my mum and tata were so nice, they accepted it and told the DPP to please drop the charges. They did but then a week later he moved back into our house in Naweni and he is still there today! We had to rebuild our life in Suva. That is when my parents opened The Family Learning Center in Suva and then after two or three years we moved here. I had to learn to let go of the bitterness and anger. Our doctor here said me and my sister and mom had post-traumatic stress but we just decided to le go of it and forgive.
Q: If you had the chance to dine with any famous person of your choice, who would it be and why?
OI LEI!!!! Hmmm it would be a tie between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. because I would like to know how he feels about the recent electiondoes he think The Dream has been realised, and also what advice would he give to Fiji in its current situation, or Ratu Mara..I remember watching the last interview he did and it made me cry. I would want to know that in the end, he did not pass away broken hearted, but filled with hope that someday Fiji will be a free and democratic nation where every individual, is given equal opportunity and where success comes from who you are, not who you know or how big your gun is.
Q: If given a chance to share one piece of advice with the children of Fiji, what would it be?
A: Obey your parents in the Lord for this is right!
