Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha

These past months have been a time to reflect on our commitment, realize new visions and goals for Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha. So many feel that it is a time of a big crisis. We went to look for the original meaning of the word “crisis” in Greek and we learned that “the word krisis, in the sense of distinguishing and therefore deciding, does not necessarily have a negative meaning: the crisis is rather an occasion for judgment and discernment. It’s a time to learn to be creative and make  better choices”.

All our programs have been on halt. Mākaha Elementary, like all the schools, has been closed since March 2020. No students, no activities with the children from Mākaha and no field trips from other schools. Because of the lockdowns, we have not been able to offer the container garden workshops, nor keep the farm open to volunteers and visitors.

Needs have surged in our community for food. We started to plant more fields for vegetables. Together and supported by the Wai`anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, we have been able to share hundreds of pounds of produce together with food from the Hawai’i Food Bank through the Keiki Pantry every Tuesday. Once a month, we have been participating and helping at the distribution of protein and other food items to hundreds of families in our community.

It has been a time to care even more for the land. During the lockdown, people were doing a lot of repair, cleaning, starting gardening (we shared supplies to start a garden with 400 families with the help fo Mālama Learning Center). The hardware stores were full of people buying supplies for their homes. We had time to do the same. Time to repair the Hale, to renovate the kitchen, to plant more, to have lessons on farming with Dr. Jonathan Deenik and Joshua Silva from U.H. and also every morning, have time to meet with the staff, making common decisions on plans for the farm, and schedule the work for the day. 

A few days ago, a friend asked: “What do you think the people need today?” My answer was:  “People today need hope”. That morning, the staff from Hoa ʻĀina and from the Wai`anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center were outside the gate distributing goods to a long line of people. I felt that ”hope” was not the food that was shared but “the way” that was shared, and “the presence of our farm in our community for so many years”…  a statement that there is hope.