By Karen Welsh
Ohana means everything to 64-year-old Lapahoehoe native Lucille Eunice Kalikolehua Moniz Viveiros Chung. And, if a name means anything at all, Lucille's aloha for family is long and far reaching.
For Lucille, the concept of ohana doesn't stop at immediate family. Sure, her husband, four children, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren would be in the inner ring if ohana were the center of a concentric circle.
But the outer bands would consist of extended family, her neighborhood, community, East Hawaii and finally to all those living on the Big Island.
Her love for all was proven 10 years ago when Lucille "temporarily" moved to Hilo when she became the Community Building Facilitator at the Queen Lili'uokulani Children's Center.
Before that time, she happily lived in Lapahoehoe, where she was born, grew up and graduated from high school before working 34 years as a Police Operations Clerk at the local station.
It was there, in that tiny community, Lucille learned aloha and ohana go hand in hand.
"The term 'it takes a village to raise a child' was how I felt," she said. "I belonged to everybody. Besides having good neighbors, I also had family close by. I feel very blessed to have grown up in Lapahoehoe. We are all one ohana. They love me and I love them."
Lucille remembers her mother, the postmaster in the town at the time, taking her to work when she was just a young child.
"I began my public service work there, chatting to everyone as a young keiki," she said. "I was not a shy child. I would talk to anyone, even the prisoners cleaning the grounds."
There was a natural rhythm to life in the little hamlet. Every Saturday morning the entire family, consisting of eight children, mom and dad, aunties, uncles and an assortment of cousins, would walk over to her grandfathers house down the road. Up from the gulch the kupuna would gather taro plants and boil them. Then everyone would help turn it into poi.
"It was a very simple life," Lucille said. "We were expected to show up every Saturday and make our poi for the week. It was a time of sitting with my relatives, sharing life. To this day we are very close. And, I can honestly say I have not tasted poi ever like that poi. It was the best."
After 54 years of living in this tight-knit community, the position at Queen Lili'uokulani was offered to Lucille --a perfect fit her passion in life, and she immediately knew it would fulfill her gifting as caretaker. As giver.
"I've always said, 'find out what you enjoy doing in life and then you'll never have to work a day," Lucille mused. "That's what I did. My job is not work. I love doing it."
With the decision made, Lucille moved to the much bigger town of Hilo a decade ago, and her kuleana became a natural one of "connecting all the dots." She does this by going out into various towns and villages on the Big Island, finding out the needs of certain children and providing them resources.
"It's the mission at the center to serve orphan and destitute Hawaiian children, because Queen Lili'uokulani left her estate to take care of these children," she said. "I connect with many communities. I support these children in their school and community. I help them connect with who they are. I try to make dreams come true."
Her heart and roots, however, remain in the little coastal village, where she also helps with programs that help reduce illegal drug use and promote family values.
"Lapahoehoe is a special community. I go there so often that people think I still live there," Lucille said. "I enjoy helping to create and do things there. My passion is seeing things happen positively."
One project Lucille helped with in the late 1990s was life-changing experience for the children at the community school. The students completed a service project at the park where many people lost their lives in the 1946 tidal wave.
Afterwards, the children listened to many survivors tell their story of the day. All the stories were recorded and the following year the gifted and talented class put together the award-winning book, "April Fools: The Lapahoehoe Tragedy of 1946, An Oral History." The book of firsthand accounts is currently in it's third printing.
Lucille's work is far from complete, however. There is always more to do and this gracious woman will not be stopped. She understands that people need to be met. Touched. Loved. Hanai-ed into her family. With each passing day the circle of Lucille Eunice Kalikolehua Moniz Viveiros Chung's ohana continues to grow, longer than her name. Much longer. Aloha Nui Loa Auntie for all you give!