HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0633.023 2020-2022 p/NS.SSC
COMM.X633
Louis P. Mendonca
Vice President �^�▪ '`
PUNA CANOE CLUB
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P.O. Box 22 --
Hilo, Hawaii, 96721
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Aloha Hawaii County Council Members of the Committee on Human Services and
Social Services,
My name is Louis P. Mendonca. I am Vice President of Puna Canoe Club. My
written testimony is being submitted in support of Puna Canoe Club's Waiwai
Grant Application for its Keiki Wa'a Camp Program.
This program will provide keiki and their ohana a place to connect and to learn
about traditional Hawaiian cultural values and practices. It will bring keiki and
their ohana together as one with other community members. They will have an
opportunity to learn from kumu and kupuna about the Native Hawaiian culture of
outrigger paddling and, in a deeper sense (kaona), the wa'a's connection to the aina
and its people.
Keiki and their ohana will also have the opportunity to learn about how the Native
Polynesian people were navigators not only of the ocean, but also as an example of
navigators through life's past harms and trauma and as peace seekers for the
future. So that keiki and their ohana will be able to see, with each interaction, the
value in themselves and as a resource for the community as a whole.
This program will also provide opportunities to spread the spirit of Aloha - aloha
kekahi i kekahi (love for one another) and leave a legacy of Native Hawaiian culture
with keiki and their ohana.
Mahalo forY our consideration.
Aloha,
Louie Mendonca
Comm. No `� Z�
Ref. To: p k✓S6 L
Ref. Date MAY 3 1 2022