North Shore NewsLaie teen battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma receives a hideaway inspired by her favorite movie
Eighteen-year-old wish kid Pomai has dreamt of a Harry Potter-themed hideaway—a space to call her own—for months. And on February 3, Make- A-Wish® Hawaii, Noma Home Builders, and the North Shore community made that dream a reality. Pomai’s wish was of cially granted in her backyard at the family’s Laie home where friends, family, and all those involved in bringing her wish to life helped unveil the completed space.
The eldest of six children, personal space for the Laie teen can oftentimes be at a premium. Pomai’s wish for a hideaway was that it could be a place for her to relax, read books, stargaze, and have her friends over—the typical pastimes of a teenager. However, most teens aren’t dealing with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In addition to her love of everything Harry Potter and enjoying the stars, Pomai’s wish for the retreat is also to give her space to escape from the stress of her cancer journey.
Make-A-Wish Hawaii engaged North Shore custom homebuilders Noma Home Builders to create Pomai’s perfect wizarding getaway. The team from Noma spent months working to design and build a true oasis for her.
“We want every aspect of it to be amazing and for people to feel a sense of awe and wonder,” said Chris Sutter, a Noma employee who spearheaded work on the hideaway with the help of countless donors and volunteers.
On average, it takes 200 people to come together to make a wish possible, and the North Shore community really came together to make Pomai’s wish a reality.
“Noma Home Builders was so excited from the start to just grab ahold of this wish and completely adopt it,” said Kari Bogner, Director of Mission Delivery at Make-A-Wish Hawaii. “They rallied not only their own team around this wish, but the entire community as well.”
Friends, family, Make-A-Wish Hawaii staff, and the team at Noma Home Builders all came out to support Pomai and see her reaction to the completed space, which featured Harry Potter-themed décor, a skylight to stargaze through, and even a few magic wands.
“Pomai said to me she would’ve been happy with four walls, a roof and chair,” said wish mom, Lilia. “To get the product that she did was unexpected, overwhelming and inspiring. The details that went into the design and the attention to the little things that Pomai would love about having a space to get away was magni cent.”
Making the day even more special, representatives from Brigham Young University Hawaii also joined the reveal and announced that Pomai had been accepted to the university.
Pomai now has a space all her own to dream big about her future and share time with loved ones. See video https://youtu.be/SR8p2Qtewvo
About Make-A-Wish Hawaii
Make-A-Wish® Hawaii creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We seek to bring every eligible child’s wish to life, because a wish is an integral part of a child’s treatment journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to ght their illness. Headquartered in Honolulu, Make- A-Wish Hawaii is considered one of the top charities in the state, with 78 cents of every dollar raised going directly toward granting wishes in Hawaii. One of the rst local Make-A-Wish chapters established, Make- A-Wish Hawaii continues to be among the busiest in the nation. Together, generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 700 volunteers have granted over 1,300 wishes for children across the state of Hawaii since 1982 and have hosted more than 14,000 others for children around the world; the chapter granted nearly 100 local wishes in 2017 alone, the most in its 35-year history. For more information about Make-A- Wish Hawaii, visit Hawaii.wish.org.