Aloha mai kakou,

We’re setting up for the All Our Aloha in One Kanoa at Ka Papa Lo’i of Kanewai this morning. If you won’t be with us in person today you can contribute photos to be shared at the event.
I’ve created a flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/kahoolawe/
We’ll be livestreaming photos from this group as a slideshow at the event, so if you have time today to upload a few of your favorites we’d love to see them.
If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to set up a flickr account, it’s free and easy to do, upload your photos and then join the group at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/kahoolawe/, and add photos to that group pool.

This group will be open, not only for today’s event, for going forward for anyone who wants to upload photos from their time on island. I look forward to having this shared space for our memories.
Malama Aina!

All Our Aloha In One Kānoa

Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana rededicates itself to Kaho‘olawe

 (Kānewai, O‘ahu). The Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana (‘Ohana) will host All Our Aloha in One Kānoa on Sunday, September 25 from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM at Ka Papa Lo‘i ‘o Kānewai at 2645 Dole Street.  The event, which is free and open to the public, and welcomes families, wraps up a year of islandswide activities marking the 20th anniversary since the bombing of Kaho‘olawe was stopped,  The ‘Ohana invites the community to join in the rededication of promoting Aloha ‘Āina throughout the islands.  Activities include talk story panels, music, food and other activities.  The ‘Ohana will be serving ‘awa from the kānoa (‘awa bowl) that has been traveling across the Hawaiian Islands for the past year inviting community to rededicate themselves to Kanaloa Kaho‘olawe and continued efforts for its restoration.

 Three unique kūkākūkā sessions will bring in members of the community to connect to Kaho‘olawe:

11 – 12 PM.  MAKAHIKI.  Makahiki practitioners from various O‘ahu communities will share their experiences around the revival of Makahiki on Kaho‘olawe and how they’ve connected those practices to their own wahi kapu (sacred places).

1  – 2 PM.  I MUA NĀ PUA.  Young people will share what the island has meant to them as students and family members through poems, songs, oli, or their personal stories.

3  – 4 PM.  EA.  Activists and proponents of Hawaiian sovereignty and restoration will describe their visions of how Kanaloa Kaho‘olawe fits into a Hawaiian entity.

Live music will be featured between sessions, including music by the Hakioawa Serenaders, Steve Ma‘i‘i, Jon Osorio, Ernie Cruz, Jr., and Kupa‘āina.

The lo‘i at Kānewai was re-established by UH Hawaiian language and culture students who were also members of the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana.  Kūpuna who guided the activities on Kaho‘olawe also helped young people to re-open the lo‘i kalo.  The histories of the two communities are interconnected.

Ono food, familiar to those who have accessed Hakioawa with the ‘Ohana, will be available for donation.  All proceeds from the day will support the mission of the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana.

Formed in 1976, the vision of the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana is Aloha ‘Āina.

Its mission is to promote Aloha ‘Āina throughout the islands through cultural, educational and spiritual activities that heal and revitalize the cultural and natural resources on Kaho‘olawe.

The Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana Maui in partnership with UH Maui College, Hawaiian Studies & Hawaiian Language and the Hawaiian Canoe Club sponsor a series of free, public events to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of “Stopping the Bombing” on Kaho‘olawe.

Maui Event Flyer

The Kōkua a Puni Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), designed for community college students transferring to UH Mānoa, was honored to participate in the August access to Kaho’olawe.  Nine SEP students from diverse academic backgrounds, ranging from pre-med to Hawaiian language and Hawaiian Studies joined a group of twenty participants to focus on Ala Loa trail blazing and building. Each SEP student is driven to achieve academic success by a desire to serve their Hawaiian community.

One of the messages that has come to light during conversations following the huaka’i is that Kaho’olawe gave these students (as well as the kumu and myself) a valuable re-grounding of sorts. Learning more about Kahoolawe’s story along with the mālama ʻāina work that was done while on the island gifted the students with new perspectives and insights on the critical interdependency between the health of a people, their culture, and their land. We understand that the accesses to Kaho’olawe that PKO facilitates take a lot of personal time, organization, and resources and we appreciate their sacrifice. PKOʻs dedication to the land and community along with the insights gained through the work and time spent on Kaho’olawe have in turn renewed our sense of dedication to our studies and our work in the community and we mahalo PKO for that.

-Submitted by Kōkua a Puni Enrichment Coordinator Pearl Wu