Queen Liliʻuokalani’s 183rd birthday is on Sept. 2, 2021. Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha was
born in 1838 as one of six kamaliʻi to high ranking Aliʻi Analea Keohokālole and Caesar Kapaʻakea. At birth, Lydia was lawe hānai to high Chiefess Laura Kōnia and Abner Pākī and grew up as the younger sister to Ke Aliʻi Pauahi.
Queen Liliʻuokalani exemplified the qualities of a great Hawaiian leader. She was proficient in the customs and language of her people, knowledgeable about both domestic and international affairs, passionate about learning, an astute business woman, a prolific composer of music, deeply spiritual, and a staunch promoter of sovereignty for her people.
On December 2, 1909, Queen Liliʻuokalani established her Deed of Trust. With her amendment in 1911, she stated that “all the property of the Trust Estate, both principal and income…shall be used by the Trustees to the benefit of orphan and other destitute children in the Hawaiian Islands, the preference given to Hawaiian children of pure or part-aboriginal blood.”
In 1911, the her trustees decided to allow the trust endowment to grow to build orphanages, the standard of care at that time. In the 1930s, when the trust had the necessary capital, the standard of care had changed to services through the Child Welfare League of America. Thus, Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) shifted to provide direct care to orphaned and destitute kamaliʻi.
Today we continue to serve the beneficiaries the Queen envisioned in her Deed of Trust.
Our Strategic Plan 2020-2045, Wehe Ke Ala, expands our services to kamaliʻi in contemporary conditions of destitution such as financial poverty, homelessness, and involvement in foster care or juvenile justice. Our cornerstone services continue and group services for youth development have taken traction. We are entering new and exciting spaces such as transitional services for homeless youth, early childhood wrap around services for kamaliʻi with children, and efforts to address big and wicked problems through our systems change work.
LT is at a point of transformation. We remain grounded in the legacy of our Queen and our history as Liliʻuokalani Trust and have the nimbleness and ingenuity to expand and trailblaze in new territory to serve our Queen’s kamaliʻi in multiple ways into perpetuity.
Hauʻoli lā hānau i kō kākou Mōʻī Wahine Liliʻuokalani!
