Water Safety Heroes

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  Wai'anae, Hawai'i
  October 24, 2014 - Wai'anae, HI
  
  Every hero has the moment they need to be ready for, that one moment in every dangerous situation when disaster strikes, when they are called upon to react at a moments notice. For Rayden Keaulana, that moment is what he lives for.
  
  “You see a guy is drowning, you’ve got maybe 30 seconds to get the guy before he goes underwater, you have to make sure you get from Point A to Point B and back on land in a matter of seconds,” he said.
  
  Staying prepared may be a bit more difficult when your office is the stunning Makaha Beach.
  
  Even on his days off, Lifeguard Rayden Keaulana is always on duty, from shore to shore, with water comes responsibility.
  
  “A lot of people don’t know how the water is, they might look at this and say it’s beautiful, but they don’t know about currents, rip currents, things you can’t see under the water, and thats usually where they get in trouble.”
  
  Rayden inherited this responsibility from world-renowned surfer Buffalo Keaulana, who just happens to be his grandfather, and the original lifeguard of Makaha Beach.
  
  “Whenever someone’s in trouble, and you’re a lifeguard, no matter where you’re at, you’re on duty,” Buffalo affirms.
  
  Rayden adds that there is a problem with some of Hawai’i’s beaches, “On this side of the island there’s a lot of beaches that’s not guarded… and anything can happen there without a lifeguard.”
  
  Even so, the Keaulana’s are steadfast in the fight to increase Hawai’i’s Lifeguarding Staff.
  
  “Jr. Lifeguards is a program that teaches kids basic skills, swimming skills, how to get out of certain situations and CPR,” explains Rayden.
  
  One pupil of his can attest to the benefits of the program, “It helped me develop as a person. It makes you realize people should be mindful of others, you know a lot of things can happen out at sea,” mentioned Jr. Lifeguard Jeremiah Gionson.
  
  It is a mindset like the Keaulana’s that may be able to keep programs like the Jr. Lifeguards afloat. Programs that help to build strong young leaders with the potential for heroism, “If one of the students was here, and they saw someone drowning out there, they could easily yell to the lifeguards or do something you know, we teach them certain signs,” explains Rayden.
  
  Unfortunately, only two sites are under current operation. Due to lack of funding, these sites are slowly drowning in a sea of red tape. In this moment, just like a lifeguard, Rayden dove in headfirst to help.
  
  “We did jr lifeguard from 10 yrs old, all the way until 17 did the competitions every year, and now we try to make kids in our program do the same thing.”
  
  Unfortunately, this year he was too late to save the Jr. Lifeguards, but that still hasn’t stopped Rayden from helping kids in need.
  
  “They’re the heroes? Maybe, yeah. Some of them actually wanna be guards when they’re older.” That would be the perfect end to another day at the office for Rayden, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

"Anything can happen there without a lifeguard," Rayden Keaulana said.

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Looking Back

"It was awesome to know, how willing someone is to risk their lives for others." 

Raeanna Labrador-Pollick,Producer/Photographer/Editor

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"It never crossed my mind how many unguarded beaches there are in Hawai'i and the effect it has on our state ."
Crystal Cebedo,  Reporter/Writer

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"It was great to see that someone is fighting to keep the lifeguard programs alive."


Marcela Bator, Producer/Writer

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"I never knew how many people in Hawaii died from drowning."



Jaena Campos, Photographer

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