Maui County student wins Dr. King Peace Poetry Award
Kalama Intermediate School seventh grade student Helia Lorico-Minchin was awarded the Maui Country grand prize in the 25th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Poetry Awards.
Gov. Josh Green, M.D., State Rep. Leon Bolosan, Maui Mayor Bissen and Executive Assistant Sharon Banaag delivered congratulatory speeches and presented prizes to winners who recited their poems to an audience of more than 275 at Carden Academy’s Browning Hall on Saturday.
Lorico-Minchin’s poem was selected from a field of more than 470 entries. Lorico-Minchin received a grand prize certificate issued by Green and a painting donated by Maui artist Davo.
Moss Limuakamokukealoha Kuon from Kamehameha School of Maui was announced as the statewide Hawaiian Language Grand Prize Winner.
State Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chair Carmen Hulu Lindsey presented Kuon a grand prize of a baritone ʻukulele donated by Kala ʻUkulele.
Kathryn Rutecki of Lahaina Intermediate was awarded Dr. King Peacepoem Teacher of the Year. Rutecki received a gubernatorial congratulatory certificate and a water color painting by Terry Geitz.
“We are delighted to receive work of this caliber from this young Maui poet,” said awards coordinator Melinda Gohn.
The annual competition, sponsored by the Maui-based International Peace Poem Project, is to honor Dr. King, the civil rights leader who promoted nonviolent means to achieve social justice and equality.
Ten Maui schools participated. Golden Circle winners received certificates from Green. Forty-seven winning students received certificates as finalists from Mayor Bissen and a limited edition commemorative poster featuring the double-hulled sailing canoe Hōkūleʻa. The photograph of the Hōkūleʻa on its Worldwide Voyage of peace was donated courtesy of photographer Nāʻālehu Anthony, the Polynesian Voyaging Society and ʻŌiwi TV.
Poetry organizer Melinda Gohn said Lorico-Minthin’s winning peace poem, “In a World Where Dreams Take Flight” portrays the challenges of Dr. King’s civil rights struggle and his ability to touch people’s hearts with metered rhyme and metaphor.
“In a world where dream takes flight/ Dr. King’s vision shines so bright/ A tale of courage, a timeless song/For peace and love, he stood strong./ From Selma’s bridge to a mountain top/ His words a symphony that will never stop/ A dream that echoes through the years/ Wiping away injustice, calming fears/ So let us carry the dream he spun/a tapestry of unity for everyone/In a world where kindness is our goal,/ Dr. Martin Luther King, you’ve touched our soul.”
Excerpts from “In a World Where Dreams Take Flight” by Helia Lorico-Minchin, 2024
More information about the International Peacepoem Project may be obtained by accessing the Project’s website at peacepoem.org
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