Twelve-year-old Emilia Knudsen will be showing some love today to 80 kupuna (senior citizens) at the Regency at Puakea, an assisted-living facility in Lihue. She will present to them Valentine’s Day entertainment, gifts and tokens of kindness in an effort to offset the loneliness stemming from pandemic-related precautions.
“Na kupuna really need our help now. They have been isolated for almost a year,” she said. “It is not fair. When times are hard like now, you want to be with your family and they cannot do that.”
The budding entrepreneur raised $1,000 to buy flowers and make chocolate-covered strawberries, and gathered about 15 friends to make Valentine’s Day cards, hand-paint rocks and dance for the kupuna. The cards include sentiments like: “You are not alone.” “You are special.” “We care about you.” “You have a secret admirer.” “We love you.”
Emilia has plenty of experience in raising funds to spread aloha by working since last April to provide free food to people hurt by the economic downturn that followed COVID-19 shutdowns. She makes and sells handcrafted items, including Keiki Dough (a nontoxic version of Play-Doh), and her Trash to Treasure ornaments and jewelry — made from beach glass, shells and other objects found in nature. They’re sold online on Etsy under EmiliaKJewelry and at The Kauai Store, which specializes in locally-made gifts and products.
Kauai businesses Tiny Isle and Sweet Shoppe have donated 80 chocolate truffle gifts and 80 packets of caramels, respectively, for the seniors to be given out at today’s 6 p.m. event.
Emilia will be one of six young fire dancers who perform under teacher Pomaikai (Jordan) Libre-Harris. Two hula students and their teacher will also perform, along with the Voice Weavers: A Woman’s Empowerment Choir, to which Emilia belongs.
“All Emilia’s grandparents died early and she does not know anyone living in assisted living on Kauai. She has always loved na kupuna. When she was little she would take our food and share with kupuna at our street,” said her mother, Kamala Knudsen. “Last year she was visiting a dying kupuna in hospice and she sang her beautiful songs to ease her pain and path.”
