Call to end bullying strikes a chord

Four people who stood up in front of hundreds of their classmates to admit they were bullies and vow to stop intimidating others were warmly applauded Thursday at a Kala­heo High School assembly.

Bullies in the audience were asked to show their faces as well as "the courage and humility to admit you’re wrong," by inspirational speaker Nick Vuji­cic, who is on a three-week anti-bullying crusade at 18 schools in Hawaii. It’s also a personal mission of Vuji­cic, an easy target of bullying since he was born with no arms or legs.

His nonprofit organization, Life Without Limbs, has taken his faith-based message across the U.S. and the world.

Junior Ravin Camarena said Vuji­cic’s speech made a deep impact on his classmates.

"I could see the impression on people’s faces," he said.

He said Vujicic’s advice will make a difference in the way students approach harassment on the Kai­lua campus. Cama­rena said he has witnessed one of the boys who stood up throw insults around without much thought, and probably didn’t realize the hurt he was causing.

Kahren Balela, also a junior, said bullying is a problem at the school; drug and alcohol abuse also occurs to cope with personal pain.

"A lot of us need to see ourselves and be honest with each other," she said while waiting in line to thank Vuji­cic after the assembly.

She said students should heed Vuji­cic’s advice and not worry about what others will say if they defend someone being harassed.

Also waiting to meet the evangelist was Cameron Jeter, a junior who called Vuji­cic "a big inspiration," adding, "He makes people feel better about themselves and helps them change how they are. I’ve actually grown up with it (bullying). My little brother is autistic."

Vujicic (pronounced voo-yi-chich), 31, told the students, "You can change the culture of this school. Only 3 percent of you are actually bullies. Half of you continue to spread rumors and gossip. If you don’t try to stop bullying, you are running with them. … It starts with you and it starts with me."

He cited a statistic indicating 40 percent of middle school students are bullied.

High school students in Hawaii have the second-highest rate in the country of making a suicide plan, and middle school students have the highest rate, according to Mental Health America of Hawaii.

Requesting that everyone raise their hands and close their eyes for an informal survey, Vuji­cic asked three questions and told students to make a fist if their answer was "yes." From the show of fists, he shared some alarming numbers.

"One in 5 of you have thought of committing suicide," he told the audience. "In this school, in this room, 80 students have tried to commit suicide, and 40 teenagers tried to commit suicide because of bullying in this school."

AT AGE 10, Vuji­cic said, he tried drowning himself in the bathtub because he had given up hope for any kind of fulfillment. He thought he’d never get a job or find a woman and that he would always be dependent on others for care.

"I was disabled not because I had no arms or legs, but by what everyone thought of me," he said.

He said he made the mistake of magnifying taunts instead of the positive support of a loving Christian family.

He urged the students not to fall into a similar trap.

"Don’t give up," he urged. "Don’t let your past determine your future. … Don’t define your value based on the way you look."

Vujicic said he often prayed for a miracle of arms and legs, and although he’s assured of having them in heaven, he is prepared if a miracle happens.

"I keep a pair of shoes in my closet just in case," he said.

Vujicic said he would have considered it a miracle if someone with no arms or legs had come to his school as an example of how valuable a person could be in spite of physical limitations.

"But when you don’t get a miracle, become one," he said. "Give your broken pieces a chance. Don’t give up."

During his speech, Vuji­cic "walked" around on a tabletop, shifting the weight of his torso from left to right. He even jumped up and down a few inches on a humorous note, and quickly climbed a few times from the table to his electric wheelchair by himself.

He wheeled up and down the length of the auditorium to get close to the students, operating the wheelchair with two toes on his only functional foot, a small one attached to his left hip.

With only two toes, he said, "I can type 42 words a minute on a normal computer" and can use a smartphone.

Vujicic can even surf thanks to lessons from Hawaii champion Bethany Hamilton, who continued to surf after a shark bit off her arm several years ago.

The inspirational speaker, who lives in Southern Cali­for­nia with wife Kanae and son Kiyo­shi, also has written four books and started three companies.