Author Archives: Megan Stephenson

Skating to Freedom

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Nick Keoho, 19, began skating a year ago, “to stay out of trouble.” And that’s exactly why Surfing the Nations comes to Molokai and hosts their Freedom Skate Contest, held last Saturday.

The organization promotes skateboarding and surfing activities for Hawaii’s youth, to keep them free from drugs and alcohol. Surfing the Nations originally built Molokai’s skate park a few years ago, and was asked to come back. So they created the skateboarding contest, now in its second year.

“It’s what we can do to excited the youth…give them a variety of things to do,” said director Charis Bauer. Her organization also does service projects while on Molokai, such as yard clean-ups and working at the mental health drop-in center.

This year’s number of participants doubled, from 16 to 34 this year. Nicole…, a Surfing the Nation volunteer, said she recognized some kids from last year and saw their improvements.

“They’re just charging it,” she said.

The contestants varied from ages three to over 50, broken down into three age groups: under 11, 11-18, and 18-plus – this was the first year the older age group was included.

Although Keoho only competed against two others in his age group, after only skating a year won first place.

Kainalu Dudoit, a seventh-grader at MMS, has also only been skateboarding for a short time – two years – while his parents weren’t even sure he’d be able to walk. Dudoit was born with spinal dysraphism, causing bilateral club feet. Even with surgery, his parents weren’t sure if he’d be able to walk – but at Saturday’s contest, Dudoit won fifth place for his fast feet skills.

Posted in Education, Sports

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Kalaupapa Takes Budget Concerns to the State

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

In the wake of an economic downfall, the Kalaupapa community is taking action to voice its concern over the services and programs adversely affected by state budget cuts.

Recently, the patient residents of Kalaupapa have felt the repercussions of the state-imposed cuts, which have ultimately contributed to the reduction of staff members, lower quality of services, and a decrease in store, gas station and administrative office hours.

In an effort to shed light on these circumstances, the patients are planning to write personalized letters detailing their ongoing concerns to the state government ? though it won't be the first time.

food and supplies." Complaints of the patients' care home being downgraded, administrative and business services being greatly decreased and the possibility of downsizing the food service staff ? meaning no more hot meals or home meal delivery on weekends ? were also detailed in the letter.

Under the Hawaii Revised Statute 326, the "State may not reduce services to leprosy patients to point of imperiling life or imposing severe hardship without pretermination hearing."

But in a response letter on Jan. 13, Gov. Lingle assured patients the state remained committed to providing them with lifetime services and health care, and noted that the Kalaupapa budget "will not sustain reductions that would endanger the health and safety of the residents."

Kalaupapa Department of Health (DOH) administrator Mark Miller said in a community meeting last Wednesday that the message perceived by Gov. Lingle’s letter was for the patients to "tough it out” during these “tough times.”

Miller said ultimately the state controls the budget and if change is to occur, both the governor and congressmen need to hear the individual voices of the patient residents themselves.

Although Gov. Lingle cleared up rumors regarding downsizing the kitchen staff (there are no plans to make cuts, nor to eliminate weekend meals) and closing the Hansen's Disease Branch and Kalaupapa Admistration (neither are said to be true), the residents still find the state not upholding its obligation to adequately sustain services, and requires further action.

Drafting letters that discuss patients' current conditions and personal hardships is one option being explored as the settlement continues to fight for its well being, determined not to be pushed aside or forgotten about.

Kalaupapa Memorial Update
The vision of a memorial honoring over 8,000 Hansen’s disease patients that have been sent to Kalaupapa is inching closer to reality as the options for locations have been narrowed down to the old Baldwin home and Judd Park. Eighty percent of the former patients do not have grave markings.

Erica Viernes-Stein, a National Park Service (NPS) archeologist, is conducting an archaeological information investigation and surveys of the sites that will determine the material present on the surface and below ground, as well as any absence of material.

The reports gathered from the NPS are then submitted to the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) who will then make an environmental assessment based on cultural, historical and environmental significance.

At this stage, the process is a collaborative effort by the NPS and Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa ? a non-profit established to preserve the history and spirit of the Kalaupapa patients ? who’s opinion on the location will be heavily weighed.

Posted in Community, Government

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Health Center Welcomed with Open Arms

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Residents, volunteers and staff members welcomed the new Community Health Center to the former Pau Hana Inn with open arms last Saturday in an event that embraced change for Molokai’s future.

The federally-funded clinic will be bringing an extensive variety of medical services to the Molokai community and will operate from the former hotel, which will be transformed over the year to accommodate the services.

medical and healing needs,” said Debbie Davis, Health Center Outreach Eligibility Worker. “It’s been in the making for six years.”

In 2004, Sen. Dan Inouye put in an application to open up the health center; approval was granted and a non-profit health clinic was established. Now, with new Health Center Director Desiree Puhi jumping on board, $117,000 in federal economic stimulus funds, and the purchase of an expansive hotel to set up shop, the vision is finally being realized.

“I was one of the eight that started with the health center, so it’s really like a dream,” Davis said.

The Molokai Community Health Center (MCHC) ranks number 14 for medical centers in the state of Hawaii that are federally qualified. The clinic aims to provide a variety of services that include medical, dental, behavioral health and the Ikaika program for children.

Currently, the behavioral health and physical therapy services are open, but the medical, dental and administration departments have yet to be moved to the new location.

“It’s going to happen in stages – medical will most likely be first, and dental last,” Davis said. “The buildings need to be fixed to accommodate the equipment.”

Although converting the former retreat center into a medical facility may take some time, it doesn’t downplay the excitement felt by the staff and community.

“It’s a dream,” said Claire Iveson, director of the Molokai Family Support Center. “It’s what the island has wanted for so long.”

The health center’s new home was once one of two hotels in Kaunakakai. Built in 1970, the hotel rests on nearly six acres of oceanfront property. In 2002, the hotel was sold by Molokai Ranch Ltd. to New Hope Christian Fellowship of Honolulu, and is now making its way to give back to the community for healing purposes.

Posted in Health

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Molokai Is…

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Is it a poor and backwards place mired by in-fighting, poverty and activism – a place that is lacking or resisting much of what the rest of world has to offer? Or is Molokai a community that is striving for a better future while celebrating and perpetuating its culture and history – a place where wealth is measured by generosity?

What is Molokai? Although the question usually sparks much debate, most who call Molokai home have the island clearly defined by something they feel. For some, the feeling is love, for others, frustration.

However we feel there is great importance for us to talk about it. If we do not accurately define Molokai for what it is, others will surely attempt to define this island for what it is not.

The act of defining a community by what it lacks is called deficit thinking. In concentrating on that which we do not have, we can become distracted from nourishing the great things that we do have. In the process we run the risk of weakening and dividing our community.

Anyone can point out problems – it’s easy. However, it takes the dreamers and leaders who can build something meaningful from a place of positivity and inclusiveness. In this spirit, the Molokai Dispatch asks you: What is Molokai?

Molokai Is…
Win $50 Gift Certificate to Kualapu`u Cookhouse

Enter the ‘Molokai Is…’ contest now! Answer the question “What is Molokai?” using between 1-150 words, poetry, or photography for your chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the Kualapu`u Cook House.

Details: One winner per week selected by Molokai Dispatch staff. Each submission must include the full name, phone number, and photo of the contestant. Kids, ask your parents or teachers for permission. The Molokai Dispatch reserves the right to edit and print all submissions. Submit entries via email (Editor@TheMolokaiDispatch.com), in person at our Kaunakakai office (Moore building suite 5 – we can take your photo), or by snail mail (PO Box 482219, Kaunakakai, HI 96748). Mmm, mmm – thanks Kualapu`u Cookhouse!

Samples

Molokai is Maika`i

By Kanoe Davis

Ka'ana
Darkness consumes the night. Ole pau illuminates the sky. Kukui lights the path where once Lehua flourished. Trek the path of the pueo. Shadows gather upon the puu ahead.

An unveiling occurs. Her sillouette reveals soft curves. His night sends chills through the known ravines. The pueo call into the night. Blind in the darkness, hearing is heightened. Soft sounds of the animals moan at dawn.

Puunana stands erect. Laka & Kapoulakinau await their arrival. Sounds of the mo'o click in unison as an army. Guardians of the hill. Our presence is known. Calm are the winds. We are at the piko. A lei embraces us. Kapoulakinau, Kapikoowakea, Olohe, Kaneikaulanaula, and Mooheleia.

Hookupu are shared amongst those present. Olohe in the distance. Tall on puuholehua. I see you. A ball of light rises above kamakou. Hina peels her fire. Return is eminant.

Hold true to the path of our kupuna. Ho'i i ka po.

Posted in Announcements

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Stand Up to Bullying

Monday, February 15th, 2010

For two weeks, the stories of youth being bullied at home, at school, among friends and enemies were highlighted at Molokai High School. Through a traveling exhibit called Victory over Violence (VOV), both students and the community were provided with learning opportunities on how to prevent violence. VOV also included a mini ‘High School Musical’ called iChoose – a song and dance performance that shared personal stories of peer pressure and passive violence.

“The main point of iChoose is that we have a choice, that we can choose non-violence,” to pressurized situations, said the production’s coordinator, Sharen Nakashima.

Over 500 students from MHS and Molokai Middle were treated to this new part of VOV.

is always an undercurrent to teenage life,” Ornellas said.

Posted in Education

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Parishioners Mourn Loss of St. Sophia’s Church

Monday, February 15th, 2010

It wasn't the way parishioners wanted to bid aloha to their beloved Catholic church, but to some, the loss of St. Sophia's Church to a fire last Wednesday may come as a blessing.

"I don't think anybody ever imagined the chapter of Sophia closing this way," said Maria Sullivan, a long-time parishioner who has led fundraising efforts. "But when I looked up and saw the cross, it looked untouched ? like a pillar of strength."

," Guerreiro said. "It's sad because of all the memories here ? the marriages, sacraments, communions."

The parish council called an emergency meeting Thursday night to determine where Saturday's and Sunday's Mass, along with Ash Wednesday, would be held. And while “generous” offers poured in from other churches and one nonprofit in Kaunakakai, the council chose to hold future church services and activities at the former Pau Hana Inn ? recently taken over by the Molokai Community Health Center.

"We're going to utilize this site until further notice," said Leoda Shizuma, parish council member.

Before Wednesday night's fire, St. Sophia's Church, built in 1937, was slated to be demolished and replaced later this year with a new worship structure named St. Damien Church, in honor of Father Damien, who was canonized just four months ago.

The Molokai Catholic community has been raising funds to contribute to the $3 million project since 1995.

"It should advance our progress," Guerreiro said.

While the new church’s design plans are being reviewed by the Maui County Planning Commission, the parish hopes to celebrate Christmas Mass 2011 in the new St. Damien Church.

"We're sort of homeless right now," Sullivan said. "It's important that people come through for us financially."

While plans to rebuild excite some, the loss of St. Sophia's Church is still difficult to fathom for others.

"My heart hurts," said Kanani Negrillo, long-time parishioner who was born only a year after the church was built. "I was born and raised in this church ? there are too many memories."

"We feel loss, we feel sorrow," Shizuma added. "But you can also see the beauty in it ? the community coming together and asking, 'How can we help?'"

Posted in Announcements

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Devotees of St. Damien Celebrate Canonization

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Reader Contributed

By Kenneth J. Souza
Anchor Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Faithful Catholics from New England traveled to the nation’s capital January 31 to give thanks for the recent canonization of St. Damien of Molokai at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The Mass honoring the heroic “leper priest” and ninth saint canonized who lived and worked extensively in the United States was celebrated by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.

Father William Petrie, SSCC, provincial of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary based in Fairhaven, Mass, noted that although many people attended the actual canonization ceremony and celebrations in Rome last October, there were many other devotees of St. Damien and members of his own order who approached him and said they could not attend.

In short order, Father Petrie and Archbishop Sambi agreed a celebration would take place January 31 — appropriately enough, World Leprosy Day — and the setting would be the National Shrine.

“The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary chose today as a day to celebrate the canonization of St. Damien because he selflessly served the lepers on the island of Molokai and eventually became a leper himself,” said Msgr. Walter R. Rossi, rector of the Basilica, in his welcoming remarks.

Father Petrie noted in his homily that it was also exactly 130 years ago on this date that St. Damien wrote home to his parents expressing his joy at being able to live and work among the abandoned and rejected people of Molokai island afflicted with Hansen’s disease.

“He wrote: ‘I am very happy to be able to continue to dedicate myself to the leprosy patients and I have no other desire in the world,’” Father Petrie said. “What a statement. This sentiment is from one who lived the Christ life. St. Damien learned that he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. He was at peace with the choice he made in following Christ. There were no regrets. He accepted his reality. He had spiritual joy.”

St. Damien’s charitable and compassionate efforts to help the people of Molokai are often cited by priests as one of the key reasons they entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts.

In praising St. Damien’s selfless call to do God’s work, Father Petrie said he was guided by the greatest commandment of them all as proclaimed by Christ himself.

“We have all been created through God’s love and dedicated for a special mission,” Father Petrie said. “We live that mission — moment by moment, day by day with a great commandment to guide us: ‘Love God with all our heart and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves.’”

Posted in Letters

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The Gorilla Ogo Removal Team Is Back!

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Community Contributed

By Cecile Walsh

The Gorilla Ogo Team was delayed for a few months, but wants to let the community know that they are back on Molokai to remove this harmful pest. The last Gorilla Ogo removal event was carried out in Kaunkakai Harbor in August 2009.

Along with community volunteers the team was able to remove fourteen thousand pounds of this invasive Gorilla Ogo from the harbor area. The Ogo team returned to Molokai this January 2010, to find an alarming amount of Gorilla Ogo washed up along the beach in front of the canoe shacks. It was apparent that there was even more invasive Ogo in January than there was in August, so the team decided to conduct another Gorilla Ogo removal event at the harbor.

The Ogo team would like to thank the handful of community members that volunteered during January’s removal event, we could not done it with out the help/man power. The Gorilla Ogo team hopes that community members will come down to the next few removal events and get educated about this alien limu and lend a helping hand in the removal efforts.

From February 16-19, the Ogo team will be working within Kaloko eli Fishpond a few miles west of Kaunakakai Harbor. We will be collaborating with the non profit group Ka Honua Momona International. We are planning to conduct outreach activities with KHM’s staff, volunteers and educational groups during our week at Kaloko eli removing Gorilla Ogo. At the end of March we will be on the east end, working within Ualapue Fishpond removing this beast, the Gorilla Ogo.

Volunteers can contact Hoala Davis, at KHM's office 553-8353

Posted in Environment, Environment & Ecology, Letters

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Ka Molokai Makahiki 2010

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Community Contributed

By Walter Ritte

Ka Molokai started 28 years ago in 1982 at One Alii Park. Preserving and enhancing Hawaiian Culture was the impetus for bringing back the Hawaiian games. The celebration of peace over a four-month period reflected well on the Hawaiian sense of values. During the season of Makahiki, all wars were put on hold, as agriculture and subsistence became the focus. Warriors went home to plant, fish and to care for their families and aina.

Today the values of the Makahiki season are even more important. This past year we learned important lessons when the nation’s economy crashed. One lesson was that oil reserves have peaked and are on the decline, in other words “we will soon run out of oil!” The other lesson is that without The Barge, we have only a week of food for Hawaii, we have no food security.

This year’s Ka Molokai Makahiki was on the verge of being canceled for the first time in thirty-nine years, but the winter rains stopped just hours before the games. The constant rain went from being a potential threat, to becoming a peaceful ho’ailona, or positive sign for enough water to grow our food this coming year on Molokai. The large crowd was encouraged to grow their own food at home, and to teach their children to fish, hunt and farm.

This year’s Makahiki was a great success. On Friday, the first day of the two day event, the Intermediate and Molokai High School along with schools from Hawaii Island, Maui, Lana’i and Oahu gathered mauka at the traditional Makahiki Grounds of Naiwa. Here in the lush green hills, they found their Ano Koa Ki’e Ki’e and class champions to send to the Saturday games in the dry plains of Kaunakakai. Later that same evening, in the intermittent rain, the adult men and women went through fierce competition, each entering in 10 games to find the Ano Koa Ki’e Ki’e champions. Kaina Makua, a muscle bound large man from Kauai and Leiohu Colburn, a petite pretty girl from Hawaii Island were this years adult Ano Koa Ki’e Ki’e champions for the second year in a row.

Of course the Saturday games were as great as ever, with the spot light on our elementary schools. As always, it was the hoards of screaming students, the supportive teachers and principals, and the proud parents that always make these games so successful. In the third grade Huki Huki Championship, everyone was cheering for the underdog Maunaloa team, as there was a sense of hope and sadness, with the realization that Maunaloa Elementary School may not be with us next year. The spectators were encouraged to support Maunaloa with their efforts in keeping their historic school open.

Posted in Education, Hawaiian Culture, Letters

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Representative Mele Carroll Protects Small Schools

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Aloha k?kou,

Among those options being deliberated upon to cut our state budget is the merging of small schools with larger ones. I support efforts to cut costs, but feel that our keiki have already suffered enough under Furlough Fridays; forcing young students from smaller schools to commute great distances in order to save money would compromise their educational standing. To deal with this important issue directly, I have introduced HB 2671, a bill that will exempt smaller schools in District 13 from the rules governing such measures in order to protect our keiki and to allow communities to decide what course of action would best suit their interests.

In introducing this bill, I would also like to commend the efforts of the teachers and administrators at Maunaloa Elementary for their consistently excellent service. Smaller class sizes have long proven to be effective in producing excellent students and I am in support of the measures Maunaloa Elementary has taken to ensure that that their students' needs are met. These educators deserve to have the opportunity to continue their efforts and I hope that this bill will allow them to do so. I have also introduced HB 2974, which prohibits the closure of Maunaloa Elementary School.

I am also concerned that forcing students to commute would place an unnecessary strain on the outstanding staff at Kaunakakai Elementary School. As the largest elementary school on Moloka`i, Kaunakakai Elementary has always done its best with its resources and provided its keiki with the tools they need to succeed. Asking the teachers to take on more students would be unfair, and while I am sure they are capable of serving these keiki, I don't see that there is a need to pose such a challenge to them.

The bottom line for me is that the state is obligated to provide each child with a quality education. Our keiki should be our top priority at all times, especially when there is a budget crisis. It is my hope that my fellow legislators and I will be able to collaborate on this matter and suggest alternative ways of cutting our budget that do not place at risk the most vulnerable members of our community.

I am also working to find creative solutions of promoting sustainable financing options for vital cultural and social programs, both on Moloka`i and in the state at large. I appreciate the community's input on such measures and welcome everybody to have a voice in deciding what options would best serve our people in the present and the future.

Mahalo nui,

Representative Mele Carroll

Posted in Education, News Releases

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Author Archives: Megan Stephenson

Skating to Freedom

Kalaupapa Takes Budget Concerns to the State

Health Center Welcomed with Open Arms

Molokai Is…

Stand Up to Bullying

Parishioners Mourn Loss of St. Sophia’s Church

Devotees of St. Damien Celebrate Canonization

The Gorilla Ogo Removal Team Is Back!

Ka Molokai Makahiki 2010

Representative Mele Carroll Protects Small Schools

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Author Archives: Megan Stephenson

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