These West Oahu Residents Are On A Mission To Clean Up The Island’s Beach Parks Community members are channeling their frustration with graffiti and vandalism into a kakou kuleana – shared responsibility – to take care of public spaces.
Lena Spain-Suzuki was fed up with the dirty bathrooms at Pokai Bay Beach Park. Last year, the beige comfort station’s walls were covered with graffiti. The trash cans were overflowing and there was a pungent smell inside.
So she teamed up with residents from Pu‘uhonua ‘O Waianae — a self-organized homeless community in Waianae — to do something about it.
“I said, ‘Let’s do this’ and we took it upon ourselves to get this place cleaned,” Spain-Suzuki said.
