Photos of kupuna are a window to the past

As Antone Bento grew up on Hawaii island, he made an effort to "memorize everything that was important" — a task he found necessary because his education ended at the seventh grade. Bento must have accumulated a wealth of memorized facts: He turns 100 this week.

All that knowledge he gained while he was a handyman for the Big Island school district didn’t play as big a role on his life as his five children, he says.

Alice Toshima, 92, attended cooking school as a young woman and eventually rose to become head cook at Woolworth, earning $1.54 per hour. Toshima was the oldest of eight children and is grateful her father always encouraged her to work because it taught her that she was able to support her own family.

Bento, Toshima and 10 other participants are the faces featured in "Reflections. In Their Words," a photography exhibit of black-and-white portraits sponsored by ProjectFocus Hawai‘i.

ProjectFocus Hawai‘i is a nonprofit program that has funded internships for at-risk children since 2005 and taught them photography skills in an effort to improve their self-esteem, self-reflection and self-awareness. The internship program culminates in an annual photography exhibit.

The subject of this year’s exhibit was residents of The Care Center of Hono­lulu, ranging in age from 45 to 100, who have dealt with complex medical conditions and now require 24-hour nursing care services. Their photographs will be displayed with narratives that describe significant people and events in their lives.

Bento and Toshima receive care at the center for medical problems related to aging.

"We wanted to tell their stories through the camera lens," said ProjectFocus Hawai‘i co-founder Lisa Uesugi.

Co-founder Laurie Callies said, "The stories were both heartbreaking and heartwarming."

The group’s previous two-year project resulted in Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children’s "Wall of Hope," a photographic exhibit that featured 30 former patients, now healthy and thriving, and offered hope for current patients.

"It was an interesting experiment to change our path this year from keiki to those at the opposite end of the spectrum and to know that adult and elder voices need to be heard and were just as important as those of a young child," Callies said.

See all 12 photos at "Reflections. In Their Words" in the entryway at the Care Center of Hawaii, 1900 Bachelot St., April 6 through May 6 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Care Center of Hono­lulu is a facility that provides services ranging from short-term rehabilitation to skilled nursing care.

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ON THE NET:
» For more information or to view the gallery online, visit Projectfocushawaii.com.