By Nakia Naeʻole
I loko o nā moʻolelo kahiko, he makawai ka puka liʻiliʻi o ka ʻauwai e kahe ai ka wai i ka loʻi, e hānai ana i ka kalo a e ola ai ke kanaka. Papa Ola Lōkahi carries this kaona forward through Nā Makawai, a program that directs wai ola — life-giving waters — into the hands of our community mahiʻai who cultivate health, resilience, and identity for our people.
He ʻōlelo noʻeau e ʻōlelo ana: “I ola ka wai, I ola ke kānaka” — when the water lives, the people live. Nā Makawai stives to embody this truth.
The program was born in 2021, during the height of ka maʻi ahulau COVID-19, when Congress set aside $20 million to support Native Hawaiian recovery. Papa Ola Lōkahi launched Nā Makawai to ensure these resources flowed i nā wahi kūpono loa — into the hands of organizations already serving our lāhui.
Guided by the recommendations of E Ola Mau and grounded in ʻike kūpuna, Nā Makawai became more than funding. It is he hale ulu, a house of cultivation, and a pūnana — a nest — where pilina, culture, and innovation can take root and thrive.
The philosophy of Nā Makawai affirms ola kino, ola naʻau, ola ʻohana, ola ʻāina — a health that is inseparable from body, spirit, family, and land. Participation asks for more than compliance. Partners come together to share moʻolelo, waiwai ʻike, and aloha. In this way, Nā Makawai strengthens ka ʻiʻo o ka lāhui, the very flesh and fiber of our people.
Its impacts are visible across pae ʻāina and throughout the diaspora. In Oregon, the Roots in the Diaspora project cultivated kalo gardens that became wahi hānai for ʻohana to learn, eat, and heal. Loʻiloa, KALO, and the Pacific Islander Health Partnership gathered lāhui in Oregon and California to carve papa kuʻi ʻai, kuʻi kalo, and connect once more to Hāloa, kō kākou kaikuaʻana. These are not mere deliverables — they are hoʻomau ʻāina a hoʻoulu lāhui.
As Nā Makawai enters its fifth year, we look ahead to expanding culturally grounded interventions, strengthening diaspora engagement, and advocating for policies that ensure ola pono for future generations. At the ʻAha Hoʻolōkahi Summit, partners were reminded of another ʻōlelo noʻeau: “ʻAʻohe hua o ka maiʻa i ka lā hoʻokahi” — no banana fruit ripens in a single day. Real growth takes time, patience, and collective nurturing.
E holo mau ana nā makawai — the waters will continue to flow. With each partner, each ʻohana, and each loʻi kalo tended, Nā Makawai nourishes our lāhui for generations to come.
Learn more about our partners at polhi.org/NaMakawai.
Nakia Naeʻole, of Lāʻie-wai, Koʻolauloa, serves as project coordinator at Papa Ola Lōkahi, coordinating the Nā Makawai initiative that supports Native Hawaiian health and community resilience.
