Display will honor children ‘in heaven’

Angels will be watching over this year’s Honolulu City Lights festivities as part of a new display designed to help those grieving from the loss of a child.

Four 6- to 8-foot-tall angel figures, made with plywood and paint, will be holding on to kites containing messages from local families to their children "in heaven," and onlookers will be able to pose for photos with a fifth angel. The backdrop, painted with clouds and a sunset, is about 20 feet across and 8 feet tall and will be set up between Honolulu Hale and Mission Memorial Auditorium.

The display is sponsored by the Joshua Neves Children’s Foundation, which offers emotional and financial support to families who have lost children under the age of 24. The organization was started by Max and Erica Neves after the death of their 3-year-old son Joshua from the H1N1 flu virus in 2009.

"The foundation helps us take something bad and make it positive," Max Neves said. "Something good is coming out of all this."

Erica Neves said it’s a way to carry on the memory of their son and to help others in similar situations do the same. "We want people to remember them, that they did exist. It’s part of the healing process," she said.

The foundation is one of five nonprofit organizations selected in a random drawing to put up a holiday display on Civic Center grounds. Messages for the kites were solicited on the foundation’s website for a $50 fee (free for support group members), and a banner and markers will be available on site for folks who want to write messages in memory of loved ones.

Professional set designer Rick McCall had time off between projects and agreed to help create the angels and backdrop for the display.

"You meet a lot of people in your life, but these guys are taking something so tragic and redirecting that into something positive," McCall said. "I can’t imagine reliving that pain every day in order to help others.

"The project is fun, creative, inspirational and for a great cause. I feel privileged to be working on this."

Daphne Manago, whose 18-year-old son Zachary was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Wahiawa while bicycling in December 2010, said the Neves foundation has helped her deal with the tragedy and inspired her to volunteer with the organization to help others.

"I attend monthly meetings just to be able to share," she said. "I love to talk about Zach and share stories. I don’t have to worry about what others think."

She said she doesn’t talk much about him with friends and family "unless the subject comes up," so the support group meetings provide a safe place to express her feelings.

Max Neves said the most important thing for grieving parents to remember is "that they are not alone in the process."

Joshua Neves loved to fly kites, and a kite is the foundation’s logo. "The kite is encouraging people to stay up, not down — to keep hope alive … to hope that one day we will be reunited with our loved ones again," Erica Neves said.

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For more information, visit www.nevesfoundation.org or call 292-2304.