Promoting Literacy on Molokai

Adult Literacy Program Manager Celeste Wong Oshiro, front row on the right, came from O’ahu to teach a free four-hour tutor training session at Molokai Public Library April 25. Photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja

The great 19th century French writer and poet Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and other novels, once said, “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” 

The nonprofit organization Hawaiʻi Literacy just set the stage for a huge fire on the Friendly Isle — its Adult Literacy Program has just expanded to Molokai. Program manager Celeste Oshiro Wong came from O‘ahu to teach the first-ever free tutor training session at Molokai Public Library April 25. 

“There are many ways people come to Adult Literacy for support, but our interest as an organization and as a program, it’s really to provide support when an adult is ready,” she said. “There’s no such thing as ‘too late’ or ‘not smart enough.’ A lot of times it’s life circumstances. So, we are here to support the community and support learners when they’re ready.”

Hawaiʻi Literacy has been helping adults over 18 years old with free tutoring sessions since 1971, but its presence on Molokai was very limited until now. The only tutor on island was Charlotte Preiss, but she tutors two learners remotely on O‘ahu. Her tutor training session was also done online. 

Now, after a four-hour tutor training session, local residents have many more choices.

“We trained nine tutors from Molokai,” Oshiro Wong said, adding they have joined Preiss in a state pool of tutors. “We are looking for learners that can be tutored in person or remotely.”

She said the tutors trained on a new curriculum for the program. There will be a follow-up training to provide additional support and to keep the tutors connected with each other.

There is no cost to the program, neither for tutors nor learners. Ideally, learners and tutors will commit to a minimum of six months, which is enough time to build their relationship and trust to move forward, Oshiro Wong said.

“That doesn’t mean that tutors and learners can only participate with us for six months,” she said. “But we try to do six months at a time so we can hone in on the goals for each learner.”

There is also no age limit, only a minimum age of 18 because the program is aimed at adults. 

Oshiro Wong said the benefits to the learners are “huge.” 

“They have an opportunity to work one-on-one with someone that is very interested in adult learning, that doesn’t necessarily want to teach them only academic English,” she said.

Besides grammar, tutors teach practical reading and comprehension skills that apply to daily situations, such as reading a bus schedule, the newspaper, children’s letters from their school, fluency, phonics and more. 

The sessions are private and confidential. The ability for learning is really about where the learner wants to go, according to Oshiro Wong. People seek the program for different reasons, whether it is to communicate better with their children, to understand prescriptions, to advance in their careers or to prepare for GED or citizenship tests.

The benefits, however, aren’t necessarily only for the learners.

“I would say that all of the tutors also talk about what a huge benefit it is to them,” Oshiro Wong said. “It gives them a new and fresh perspective on their own life and their ability to impact someone else.”

Preiss, she said, is a “shining example” of that. 

“She took this opportunity to turn tutor, and she turned her passion for learning and literacy into a very community-focused, community-minded way to provide support to the community,” Oshiro Wong said of Preiss.

Besides the 10 available tutors on Molokai, there are more people interested in becoming tutors. Oshiro Wong said a few residents could not attend the training session last month, but Hawaiʻi Literacy is planning on holding another training session online in the upcoming months.

The Adult Literacy Program started as the primary program at Hawaiʻi Literacy. But they have other programs, including Digital Literacy, English Language Learner, Family Literacy Libraries and the Bookmobile on Oahu and the Big Island. 

“Our hope is to support Molokai in all those things,” Oshiro Wong said.

Together with their relationship with the Molokai Public Library and an upcoming Little Library at Molokai Community Health Center, she said she hopes the impacts of this community-focused collaboration with Hawaiʻi Literacy will be felt for many years.

“That’s not just about one organization, but really how to support the needs of the community,” Oshiro Wong said.

Call Oshiro Wong at (808) 778-9356 or email celeste.oshiro.wong@hawaiiliteracy.org for more information on becoming a learner or a tutor.

Visit www.hawaiiliteracy.org for more information on the nonprofit or to donate.