In the Molokaʻi Community: Aloha mai kākou! With joy, I announce that our Molokaʻi OHA office has re-opened post-Covid! This wela summer, I also held my first “Talk Story with Trustee Alapa” at the Kūlana ʻŌiwi Hālau, Kalamaʻula. Twenty-five beneficiaries shared sincere manaʻo that motivated us to create a priority checklist such as keiki education, kūpuna care, mental health services, the lack of resident pediatricians and dentists, water access and affordability, home repair grants (not loans), and so on. We will identify realistic goals to present to the BOT.
Our second “Talk Story with Trustee” was on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022. Email pohair@oha.org to get on the meeting notification list.
We also hosted the Board of Trustees on June 18 and 19 in Hoʻolehua and took a moment, along with her husband, Myron Akutagawa, to honor the memory of the late Trustee Colette Machado.
Afterward, in keeping with our theme, ”Back to the ʻĀina,” we visited Sen. Lynn DeCoite’s family sweet potato farm. Russell DeCoite gave us an enlightening tour with samples of the ʻono potatoes!
Next, we experienced the solar-powered hale of Ipo and Kunani Nihipali who greeted us with an oli that gave us chicken skin! We relished a farm-to-table lunch all created from the Nihipali’s self-sustaining life on and from the ʻāina.
The O’ahu Community: Trustee Kalei Akaka took the BOT to Kula Nui O Waimānalo. The community is dedicated to delivering services and even has a hydroponic farm. The keiki gave us delightful makana of painted plant pots and home-grown lettuce.
At U.H. West Oʻahu, the staff and students at the Academy for Creative Media welcomed us with an oli. This academy is an amazing opportunity for our students (and me!) to learn digital skills.
Lastly, we honored the late Aunty Betty Jenkins, renowned hula and cultural practitioner of Waialua, Oʻahu. Her daughter Nalani Jenkins of Nā Leo Pilimehana was present to receive the resolution. Mahalo Trustee Akaka for a wonderful Oʻahu Island Board meeting!
