More than 120 ‘ōpio of our ahupua‘a (with their teachers, a vice principal, and parent chaperons) walked from Kailua Intermediate School to Ulupō last Friday morning where they were greeted with oli, instructed in the protocols of approaching this most sacred place, introduced to Hāloa, immersed in the mud of our lo‘i kalo, and asked to consider the past, present, and possible futures of a Kawainui whose waters were once described in mele as caressed by the Malanai breeze, adorned in ‘uki, inhabited by birds, and guarded by mo‘o wāhine.
The day was conceived, coordinated, and conducted by Kaleo Wong with the assistance of Maya Saffery, Kalama‘ehu Takahashi, and Kamuela Bannister, and with the gracious support of the Windward YMCA, the Department of State Parks, and DOFAW.
Cross your fingers, please, in hopes that the day's success will translate into the integration of Kaleo's ha‘awina aloha ‘āina into the KIS curriculum and into an ongoing series of stewardship activities at Ulupō that will breathe renewed life into the land and renewed meaning into the lives of its people.
"Uncle," the kids kept asking Kaleo as they said goodbye, "when can we come back again?" Two have already done so. "They walked up this Wednesday after school and asked question after question, mostly: ‘How can we get this to be our job when we grow up?ʻ"
-- Kihei de Silva
The day was conceived, coordinated, and conducted by Kaleo Wong with the assistance of Maya Saffery, Kalama‘ehu Takahashi, and Kamuela Bannister, and with the gracious support of the Windward YMCA, the Department of State Parks, and DOFAW.
Cross your fingers, please, in hopes that the day's success will translate into the integration of Kaleo's ha‘awina aloha ‘āina into the KIS curriculum and into an ongoing series of stewardship activities at Ulupō that will breathe renewed life into the land and renewed meaning into the lives of its people.
"Uncle," the kids kept asking Kaleo as they said goodbye, "when can we come back again?" Two have already done so. "They walked up this Wednesday after school and asked question after question, mostly: ‘How can we get this to be our job when we grow up?ʻ"
-- Kihei de Silva
