Board spotlight: Aldora kahele

When people need help, it is so important to know that the Legal Aid Society of Hawai`i is there. As a volunteer teacher's aide at an elementary school, I was recently invited to attend a parent get together because the organizer knew that I served on the Board for the Legal Aid Society of Hawai`i.
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Many of the families who attended the meeting came from Mayor Wright Homes, and needed to get legal information to address a variety of issues. I was able to help them as far as making that connection to Legal Aid and the services we provide in family, housing, public benefits, and citizenship.

Many of these parents brought their children to the meeting, to help them with accessing technology, too. They would say, “Aunty, my mom and dad don’t know how to use the computer.”

It was a good opportunity for me as a TA in STEM to teach the children, so they could help their parents navigate their way through online portals and forms. They’re really grateful when they see that I can help be a bridge and connect them to Legal Aid – they feel comfortable asking me, and then they come back and say, “Thank you, Aunty, for sharing Legal Aid with us! They helped!” That’s what life is about is… helping each other!

-Aldora Kahele, Board Member, 4 years of service