Teacher and education director Jennifer Yasutake makes computer literacy classes fun for the keiki at the Mutual Assistance Association Center. - Photo: Liza Simon

In toughening economic times, Pālolo nonprofit delivers help to job seekers

By Liza Simon / Ka Wai Ola

Often no more than the touch of a helping hand is needed to turn a life around. Cynics may disagree, but it's a creed put into daily action at the Mutual Assistance Association Center, a Pālolo nonprofit whose flagship computer literacy programs – and newly added workshops for job seekers – unfold daily on the second floor of a modest cinder-block building next to the public swimming pool.

The space was once an informal community center, but MAAC staff obtained grants in 2002 to convert it into a bustling place of learning with a bank of 40 computers and a professional staff whose salaries are funded in part by OHA. Teachers include Jennifer Yasutake, who on one particular morning is prompting about two dozen students to wave their hands in the air in response to her questions about coral reef protection – a prelude to one of many computer-based learning projects.

MAAC executive director Milton Hutchison watches the scene and notes that Yasutake's rapport with students is just right for MAAC's focus on delivering technology skills to low-income Pālolo Valley residents, including many Native Hawaiians. “Many people who come through our doors are from families with barely have enough money for food, let alone a personal computer,” said Hutchison, adding that computer illiteracy is a primary barrier to escaping poverty. “Today even entry-level jobs such as cashiering require some knowledge of computers, so this is why MAAC has gone in this direction.”

In the past few months, however, Hutchison said the agency has been besieged by a new type of request: “People are coping with lay-offs. Some haven't had to look for a job in decades. Some are just out of high school and they don't know what skills they need for the jobs they want.”

As a result, MAAC has begun to offer a series of job-readiness classes, with grant support from OHA. (See box). The free sessions teach job-interview etiquette, résumé writing and other skills – all with a hefty component of computer training. One feature that Hutchison believes will be especially helpful to job seekers of all ages is a MAAC letter of recommendation, presented to anyone who completes the sessions.

But even as state unemployment rates rise, Hutchison and staff remain unflaggingly optimistic. He praises teacher Jennifer Yasutake's enthusiasm for helping students, noting that she's licensed to teach in the public schools but evidently finds the MAAC mission a reward in itself. As for Hutchison, the helping-hand spirit runs in his family: his great uncle Ambrose Hutchison served Hansen's disease patients at Kalaupapa and documented his experiences in extensive memoirs. Perhaps not unlike his ancestor, Hutchison finds that the most rewarding part of his MAAC duties involves dispelling fears. “You have older people who have been out of the job market for decades and they've never touched a computer keyboard. It's a big step for many to come in here, sit down at this new computer. We tell them: 'Trust yourself. The computer is just a dumb machine, but you have the brain power to succeed.' ”

Job-readiness workshops

Free workshops will cover dress, etiquette, résumé preparation, completing a job application, employer expectations, and practice for job interviews. Refreshments will be served. For information on future workshops, call 737-9633, email palolo
MAAC@live.com or visit palolomaac.com.

Mon., Nov. 3, 10 and 17, 10 a.m.-noon and 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Mon., Nov. 24, 10 a.m.-noon only