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UHM students taking care of aina

January 10-16, 2022

UHM students learning to mālama ʻāina together

Aloha kākou,

Eia nō kākou e “ho‘i ana i ke kula” i kēia pule ‘oiai ma kekahi ‘ano ‘a‘ole he ho‘i maoli ‘oiai e ho‘omaka ana nā papa ma o ka zoom a me nā ‘ano mea pūnaewele ‘ē a‘e. Eia na‘e, no‘u, mahalo nui wau i ia koho no ka mea he koho e mālama ana i ko kākou ola kino. I ko‘u mana‘o, he koho piha i ke aloha a me ka mālama. ‘A‘ole na‘e he koho ma‘alahi, ‘oiai ‘ike ‘ia ka waiwai o ka hui ‘ana he alo a he alo no ko kākou hau‘oli a no kekahi ‘ano ola ‘ē a‘e ma loko o kākou pākahi a pau. Eia na‘e, makemake wau e ho‘i i ia mea ‘o ka mālama.

I kēlā pule aku nei ua hō‘ike aku wau i kekahi mo‘olelo mai ka nūpepa mai e kāhea ana i nā makuahine a me nā makuakāne e mālama pono i ka lāhui ma o ke a‘o pono ‘ana i kā kākou po‘e keiki i ke aloha palena ‘ole no Hawai‘i (Eia ka mo‘olelo piha: KA PONO NO HAWAII. Helu 2.)

No laila, eia nō wau ke nalu nei: Pehea paha kākou e kāko‘o i kekahi i kekahi ma loko o ia kuleana ko‘iko‘i? Pehea kākou nā mākua a me nā kūpuna e hō‘ikaika i ko kākou aloha no Hawai‘i i hiki ke a‘o aku i nā ‘ōpio? Iā kākou e ho‘i ana i ke kula i kēia pule, e aho paha ka mālama ‘ana i ia kāhea i loko o ka pū‘olo iā kākou e a‘o ana, e a‘oa‘o ana, e hana ana, a e alaka‘i ana. E holomua pū kākou!

English summary:

Aloha kākou!

Here we are “returning to school” this week although perhaps it could be considered not a true “return” since we will be on zoom and other online mediums to begin the semester. I’m grateful, though, for this choice that prioritizes our health in these health-challenging times. I think it really is a choice rooted in aloha and mālama. At the same time, I recognize that it is not an easy choice since we also know and feel the value and importance of meeting face to face for the joy and comfort it brings to so many of us. But I want to return to this idea of mālama for a moment.

Last week I shared an article from a Hawaiian language newspaper calling on mothers and fathers to mālama our lāhui by teaching our keiki endless love for Hawai‘i (Hereʻs the article in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i: KA PONO NO HAWAII. Helu 2.) Last week I shared a summary. This week I want to share a translation done for us by a dear friend and colleague, Ha‘alilio Williams-Solomon:

“We should all agree that the most significant advantage the Hawaiian nation could receive lies within the next generation. If that generation becomes one that acts in mischief or ignorance, then there’s no telling how mischievous and ignorant they will be when they reach adult age, which is how people become useless, and useless lots end up disappearing and fading out, with nothing to save them. If the next generation is one of propriety, and if their intellectual growth matches their physical growth, then this nation shall be an intelligent one, since “knowledge is power,” as it is welfare.
Fathers and mothers of this land, it is true that those who will one day administer this nation in the years to come are in your hands and under your instruction. They will either support the en masse revival of this nation, or they will aid in the expiration of the natives of the land, bringing Hawaiʻi’s name to an end.
In the instruction of children lies prosperity, and without that, the nation expires. Have you considered this, o parent, o teacher? The importance of this idea is extraordinary! It is true. Neither you nor anyone else can refute the truth of such a claim, in the instruction of children lies prosperity, without it, the nation shall perish. And so, o parent, within your own hands lies Hawaiʻi’s greatest virtue, which is your child, and if you love them, and if you love your own land and nation, and if you wish for your child to become a great blessing to this land, one who is renowned and loved by all those of the land, then guard that child with perpetual vigilance. And when their faulty lips fail trying to produce their first words, then begin teaching them so they absorb the love for their nation and for their homeland like they took of their mother’s milk. Teach your child, o parent, that there is no land like this land; there is no nation like this nation. Turn your home into a place of comfort, a safe haven for your family so they can go about in your shelter, spared from the burdens, troubles, and evils of this world.
And when it’s the right time, gather your young family, and tell them the story of this precious land; tell them of all of its virtues, its splendor, its bounty, its prosperity, and its value, and tell them that it is a land left for Hawaiʻi’s children, for them personally. And then, tell them the story of our ancestors, Hawaiʻi’s own very first children, and of their strength, and their esteem, and the important things they achieved. Tell them the famous names of their ancestors, and of the aloha they have for the children of this land. Tell them about the arrival of some foreigners here who brought the beacon of enlightenment to help this nation by showing them the path of life; tell them also about the arrival of the enemies of this nation, and of their desires, having sown the seeds of despair upon the far reaches of this wonderful place, and of the gradual decline of our population from that time until now. Tell all of these things, o parent, to your children with the voice of care like a parent who has aloha. And when the desires of their young hearts rise, and their tears flow, and their aloha wells up like springs for the ancestors, and for our homeland, then, tell them that this land, here and now, is for them and that the life of the nation is in their hands, as is the endurance of Hawaiʻi’s name. Teach them to recoil from the visitors coming here to incite the demise of this people. Teach them to fear God as the reason for living. Teach them to commit all of their efforts and their life in support of this difficult task, which is to reinvigorate Hawaiʻi. The great benefit of this land is remarkable when all children are instructed properly.”

With this said, I’m left wondering: How do we support one another in this important kuleana? How do we as mākua and kumu strengthen our own aloha for Hawai‘i so we can pass that on to our youth? As we return to school this week, perhaps we can mālama this call from the 1860s and hold it close as we go back to teaching, advising, working, and leading in our various ways. Let’s do this together!

Also, we will be sending out our e-newsletter this month which will be a special edition highlighting our collective accomplishments in 2021. Please be on the lookout for that.

And finally, check out ‘ōpio this week and feel free to listen to the recording of the ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i.

Aloha nui,
punihei

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