A crowd of Pacific Islanders enjoyed watching family members progress in their educational goals, graduating from one class to another during the 12th Annual Remathau Celebration which was held on Sunday, May 28, 2023, at Wow Wow Park in Kailua Kona.
‘Remathau’ equates to ‘The People of the Ocean.’
The Remathau community consists of people from the many Islands of Yap that now reside across the United States. Their community strives to celebrate their unique cultural heritage, strengthen their connections within the local community and to promote educational success for their children.
Moving on in their education and crossing the sail over were:
The following message was from Linus Lionheart Soholomar the President of the Remathau Community of Hawaii:
“Aloha! I want to welcome you all to the 12th annual Remathau Graduation. We the Remathau community of Hawaii are very grateful to have you all here on this special day for our keiki.
This celebration started out here in Kona, with the few Remathau families by awarding our children for their accomplishments throughout the school year.”
It has grown into this huge celebration now including the Remathau families from neighboring islands as well as the mainland.
As the number of Remathau community in Hawaii increases, we see the need to unity in harmony, love our culture, and be proud of where we came from, and continue to make this world a better place.”
Soholomar continued:
“To the graduates, we the Remathu people strongly believe that knowing your identity is the true beginning in your journey. It will allow you to navigate through your goals, your purpose and what will become of you in the future.
“Knowing and understanding your meaning will create a clear pathway to your successful and true destination,” continued Soholomar.
“RCH wants to create a scholarship for the kids to continue their education. We also hope to one day find land where we can build traditional houses and teach cultural education classes like navigation, farming, canoe building, lei making, local chanting, storytelling, language and more.”
