The Fundraising Page of nater niner

Little Brother Mana was in the 4th grade when Child Welfare took him and his 3-younger brothers off the streets. Not wanting the brothers to be further traumatized by splitting them up into separate foster homes, Aunty Nita hanaied the boys hoping to give them a more stable, loving, nurturing, supportive home. The boys were all physically, mentally, emotionally and educationally malnourished. When Aunty enrolled Mana into the BBBSH program, he was matched to Big Brother David Quant whom he affectingly refers to as Uncle Q. Mana had very little self-esteem and would barely look anyone in the eye. Uncle Q had Mana believing in himself that he was smart, could accomplish anything he put his mind into doing and encouraged Mana to always try his best. By the end of 5th grade, Mana’s diagnosis of being developmentally delayed was resolved. Mana recalls how Uncle Q sought him out after his 5th grade graduation ceremony and told Mana how proud he was of him. Although Uncle Q moved to Maui, the pair still keep in contact and always get together when Uncle Q is in Honolulu. Mana feels that he and his brothers have amazing BIGs and have learned and benefitted so much from each of them. Making the right decisions, the importance of being kind and respectful, being good people who can make a difference in the lives of others and most importantly, developing lifelong friendship with their BIGs were lessons learned. Mana graduated from McKinley HS this past spring and will be attending Southern Virginia University with aspirations of becoming an Engineer. Mana was selected to receive the Sugoi Scholarship for $1,000 and a Kualoa Ranch Scholarship for $500 from BBBSH. And well deserved I must add. We are all extremely proud of LB Mana and the future is bright for him. You can help create other bright futures with your thoughtful contribution. BIG Mahalos in advance for your kind consideration.