Aloha hou,
Kids from the YMCA winter break program walked down the hill again to be with us in the loʻi at the mole o Ulupō. Waele loʻi and hoʻopuʻepuʻe hou was the main work today. As with the other YMCA groups that have come to work with us all week, this is part of the new YMCA commitment to learning and engaging with wahipana in their back yard.
Having kids with us always leaves us with a full naʻau because the paradigm shift is quickly seen through the comments they make. After the morning offering of mele and introducing ourselves situating ourselves to Ulupō, it was time to go into the loʻi to mālama hāloa. Exclamations from the kids, which are not unusual, come out in the tune of "Do we have to go in there?" "Thats gross." "Is there stuff [crayfish, fish, etc.] in there?"
However at the end of the day, which is always the usual, pleas of "Do we have to leave!?" "Can we go into THAT loʻi?" "Can I keep it [crayfish or fish]?" are heard. My favorite of the day comes from a boy who originally didn't want to go in the loʻi. Shortly after he went in, he was covered in mud from head to toe from his own doing, and said to his friends, "I have the beauty of the loʻi all over me".
So many problems can be solved if we all had some TAROpy every once in a while. Worldview is quickly changed when we reestablish relationships with the land and Haloa. It is easy to see what we need to do to perpetuate the life of the land in righteousness. If the kids can do it, so can the rest of us.
Ke aloha.
Kaleo
Kids from the YMCA winter break program walked down the hill again to be with us in the loʻi at the mole o Ulupō. Waele loʻi and hoʻopuʻepuʻe hou was the main work today. As with the other YMCA groups that have come to work with us all week, this is part of the new YMCA commitment to learning and engaging with wahipana in their back yard.
Having kids with us always leaves us with a full naʻau because the paradigm shift is quickly seen through the comments they make. After the morning offering of mele and introducing ourselves situating ourselves to Ulupō, it was time to go into the loʻi to mālama hāloa. Exclamations from the kids, which are not unusual, come out in the tune of "Do we have to go in there?" "Thats gross." "Is there stuff [crayfish, fish, etc.] in there?"
However at the end of the day, which is always the usual, pleas of "Do we have to leave!?" "Can we go into THAT loʻi?" "Can I keep it [crayfish or fish]?" are heard. My favorite of the day comes from a boy who originally didn't want to go in the loʻi. Shortly after he went in, he was covered in mud from head to toe from his own doing, and said to his friends, "I have the beauty of the loʻi all over me".
So many problems can be solved if we all had some TAROpy every once in a while. Worldview is quickly changed when we reestablish relationships with the land and Haloa. It is easy to see what we need to do to perpetuate the life of the land in righteousness. If the kids can do it, so can the rest of us.
Ke aloha.
Kaleo