Kamehameha Schools Maui students and their art class kumu pose with their recently finished mural at the Kahului Airport. From left to right are Kahu Kanani Franco, Shy-Ann Braceros-Hinau, Maile Kalama, Malie Vickers, Kaylia Gomes-Hema, Lilinoe Medeiros, Alisha Reyes, Harlee Viela, Cami Nakagawa, Haven De Silva, Kumu Angie Abe and Alika Guerrero. Photos courtesy of DOT

The Maui News

Kamehameha Schools Maui students recently finished a new mural at the Kahului Airport that aims to remind travelers of the importance of water conservation.

The painting, which serves as a backdrop to a pair of airport water fountains, shows a stream flowing from a mountain and ending at a water fountain. Emblazoned across the stream is an ‘olelo no’eau, or Hawaiian proverb, that reads “I ola ‘oe, i ola makou nei,”which means “My life is dependent on yours; your life is dependent on mine.”

“Water is vital for life, and I want others to get that message from the mural,”Shy-Ann Braceros-Hinau, who was one of the student artists who worked on the mural, said in a state Department of Transportation news release Wednesday.

The art class kumu, Abie Abe, and her haumana were given the kuleana of creating a mural with a message for visitors and residents alike, and so they chose to highlight the importance of water conservation, according to DOT. The students started the mural in February and finished in April, a DOT spokesperson said Wednesday.

“Through this mural, we hope that the travelers passing through will receive this message correctly and properly treat our ‘aina (land) and wai (water) when they are visiting,”another student artist, Lilinoe Medeiros, said in the news release.