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Nicolla Hewitt
Saudi Gazette
Hawaii is a destination most of us can only dream of visiting. Idyllic weather, palm tree lined beaches and the Pacific Ocean to swim in; the three reasons many people consider the Hawaiian Islands to be a paradise on earth. Located a five-hour plane ride from California, Hawaii is where a million Americans call home. It is also where US President Barack Obama has spent every winter vacation for the past 8 years, and where over 60 students from Saudi Arabia are calling home too.
Last year, 27year old Salem Badoghiash, from Makkah, who’s currently taking a master’s degree at Hawaii Pacific University, gathered a group of 12 other students from the Kingdom studying there, and encouraged them to team up to try to make one of the Hawaiian islands – Oahu – even more beautiful than it already is.
For many it would seem a surprising idea, to try and make paradise even more perfect. Speaking to the Saudi Gazette from Hawaii, Salem said, “Living here is calm and soothing for me. But I came across some people who did not like living here and moved to the main land due to the feeling of being trapped on a small island in the middle of the ocean. So, I would say that the ability to live in Hawaii depends on personal capability to cope with the environment and the lifestyle.”
Not unsurprisingly the lifestyle on the eight Hawaiian Islands is very laid back. Largely driven by tourism, other activities include surfing, coconut plantations, biologists and volcano enthusiasts. It wasn’t long before Salem – who had heard about the organization “Us to US” which was established in 2013 to have students from the Kingdom studying in the United States spend time volunteering – received a call asking if he wanted to start volunteering on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
Recalling the phone conversation with “Us to US” founder Adham Gari, Salem told the Saudi Gazette, “I took the task and started carefully selecting people with particular skills to help me in developing and operating the team. We began discussing which volunteering activities we should take part in, and decided to name the team ‘Us to Oahu Island.’ We also agreed that each one of us to look up interesting non-profitable organizations and volunteering recruits.” Salem also decided to reach out to other Muslim Americans and Hawaiians to join the team.
It was not long before Salem and his team, in collaboration with Student Life at Hawaii Pacific University and the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), joined forces to work on a plantation project at Bellows Air Force Station beach. Bellows Air Force currently serves as a training area for the US military as well as a recreation place for retired military and civilian personnel who worked for the US Department of Defense.
One of the biggest issues affecting the beach at the air force base is the impact of strong waves, and the need to plan to prevent major damage from a tsunami wave. So the 13 strong “Us to Oahu Island” team decided to help out with a plantation project along the beach. The aim of the project was to plant local plants on the beach that help create big sand dunes, thereby lessening the impact of tsunami waves. The plantation project also included rooting out invasive plants that harm the desirable plants. In total, the team spent 117 hours helping plant and create sand dunes at the plantation.
During his interview with the Saudi Gazette, Salem recalled when Hawaiians and others at the beach realized they were volunteers from Saudi Arabia, “People with us were so surprised. They also told us that we were lucky our government was paying for our studies and taking the knowledge from Hawaii back to the Kingdom. They really appreciated what we did.”
This experience made Salem think how else he could give back, and interact with locals on the island of Oahu. Many local Hawaiians weren’t aware there was a mosque on the island, so Salem began to donate time every Sunday to teach young children on the island about the Qur’an and to write Arabic. About 80 students turn up each week, and Salem has since learned there are about 6,000 Muslims on Oahu. It’s been very rewarding. “One Hawaiian lady told me and my sister that she was afraid to be our friend because we were Muslims. But she decided not to listen to the media and what they were saying, and she would make her own decisions. Now we’re all good friends, and she’s teaching my sister to drive. It’s all because I volunteered,” he said.
This year, “Us to Oahu Island” is deciding which project to volunteer for. It may be Habitat for Humanity, which builds new homes for the poor and disadvantaged. The decision of where to volunteer will be a team one, and for Salem that’s important. “Doing this project was a big deal for them. It was really rewarding for me to see Saudi students appreciate volunteering and it encouraged them to go out and do other things and help. They want to continue to give back with their time. The idea of volunteering in Saudi Arabia is pretty rare, so I saw the good it can do. These few hours we donate our time positively influences people. If I find the right thing in Saudi Arabia to volunteer for I will.“
One can only hope that Salem Badoghiash remembers his time in Hawaii with fabulous memories, and brings some of the paradise island inspiration back to Saudi Arabia too.
