Paddlers greeted with island feast

Visiting Vaka Eiva paddlers from team CAwaii were treated to an island feast, entertainment and friendship yesterday at their adopted school Imanuela Akateimia.

The school hosted the San Diego team from the Ho’okahi Pu’uwai Outrigger Canoe club as part of the Vaka Eiva ‘adopt a school’ programme.

The small school of under 90 students was buzzing with excitement as they welcomed the team into the school grounds with a turou led by 10-year-old warrior, Faithful Turoa.

Principal of the school, Pastor Tevai ‘Bobby’ Matapo says he was pleasantly surprised when Petrina Macaskill contacted the school about the adopt-a-school programme.

He said they were asked to make a list with supplies and equipment the school needed, from which Macaskill says the donations presented to the school yesterday were chosen from.

Head coach Nan Garcia told the excited students that collecting the supplies – including two very large heavy duffel bags – had become the team’s priority.

“People gave so much of themselves giving us what they did that our racing became our second priority,” she says.

Even after the cut off time for donations, people were still bringing in supplies.

Among the supplies gifted to the school were backpacks, stationery and sports equipment.

To show their appreciation, students sang with an impromptu ura from a senior student followed by traditional umu kai.

Matapo joked that now that they had fed the team with a winning feast, they would win their races.

In his speech thanking the crew for taking the time to collect and donate the gifts he said “we love your gift and we love your accents”.

After the presentation of the gifts the team were invited to partake in traditional activities led by the students such as weaving and ei making.

Macaskill said it was a community effort with club members, businesses, friends and family members coming together with yesterday’s donation the final product of that.

As well as donating to Imanuela Akateimia the crew will be stopping by Avatea and Nukutere College sometime during the week with backpacks donated by CamelBak for the schools.

The generous crew would like to thank Air New Zealand for helping them bring the equipment to Rarotonga.