Group helps
Castle student
He excels in school and takes
By Rod Ohira
care of his family
Star-BulletinThere's never spare change in the family budget so Jordan Salis viewed an invitation to travel this summer as another unaffordable dream.
"We have a lot of outstanding achievers in public housing but Jordan is unique," Gary Aki said about the 16-year-old Castle High School junior. Aki is president of the Kamehameha Homes Tenant Association. "He not only excels academically but he comes home and takes care of his dad, sister and brother. That's why I want to help."
The association is trying to raise $500 by April 1 and $6,000 total so Jordan can take a People to People Student Ambassador Program trip to Europe this summer as one of 20 Hawaii representatives.
Jordan, the second eldest of Derek Salis' five children, is a model student with a 3.7 cumulative grade point average and is the glue that holds his family together.
Derek Salis once held three jobs to support his family, but a brain tumor and stroke has left him disabled since November 1993. He is a single parent with a fixed income.
"For the past three years, Jordan has taken the place of his mother -- he washes clothes, cooks dinner and gets his sister and brother ready for school," Derek Salis said.
"I'd do anything I can that would not get us in trouble to give him this trip. He deserves it."
Jordan, who aspires to be an attorney, also has a part-time job at IMAX Theatre Waikiki, working Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at the snack bar.
"I really want this one badly," Jordan says, referring to the summer trip. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to a foreign country to tell them about our people and how we live."
Jordan, whose favorite subjects are zoology and human physiology, draws inspiration from his father.
"My dad has raised us since I was an eighth-grader and if he can do that in his situation, I know I can do better in anything I try," said Jordan, who is running for 1999-2000 student body president at Castle.
Jordan lives with his father, 12-year-old sister and brother, 9, at Kamehameha Homes, on North King Street across from Farrington High School. An older brother resides in Waianae with his mother while a sister, 7, stays with an aunt in Kaneohe and also at Kamehameha Homes.
"We manage," Jordan says. "I think we all learn to share what we have. I know I've got to always think of the little ones."
Jordan has rejected previous educational travel opportunities, such as a 1997 invitation to the National Youth Leadership Forum on Law in Washington, D.C.
"I never even asked when the others came," Jordan said. "In our situation, you have to make sacrifices. You also learn that the longer you wait, better stuff is going to come."
The tenant association is holding a benefit car wash March 20 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Kamehameha Homes community hall. The association is also selling food products and is working on a concert at Castle High School.
Call Zara Aki at 841-0607 for information about the fund-raisers or contributions.
