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Health

Homestead Group Gets Grant to Continue COVID Relief

Thursday, February 4th, 2021

DHHL News Release

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) has announced eight recipients of the Native Hawaiian Development Program Plan, who will each receive a portion of $1 million in grants. The Molokai Homestead Farmers Alliance received $200,000 to support its existing COVID-19 relief program to distribute food, produce, hot meals, supplies (masks, sanitizers, etc.), and certificates for drugstore/prescription purchases. The goal is to serve 800 beneficiaries on the island of Molokai.

In October, the Hawaiian Homes Commission approved the Native Hawaiian Rehabilitation Fund (NHRF) grant funds for the current fiscal year. The allocation included $500,000 to support COVID-19 relief efforts within the native Hawaiian community and $500,000 toward Regional Plan Priority projects on the homelands.…

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Makahiki March

Thursday, February 4th, 2021

Makahiki March

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

As with everything else over the last year, 2021 Ka Molokai Makahiki looked different. There were no traditional games played or roaring crowds to cheer on favorite competitors in hukihuki, kukini, uma or haka moa. Instead, a small group of dedicated and masked Hawaiians carried the banner of Lono on foot from one end of the island to the other, starting on Jan. 25.

“For the first time in 39 years, due to the pandemic, the Ka Molokai Makahiki Games were canceled… the Lono banner was carried for five days from east Molokai at Halawa to west Molokai at Hale o Lono in celebration of the closing of the season of peace,” wrote one of the event’s organizers, Walter Ritte, on social media.…

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Kalaupapa Gets Vaccinated

Thursday, February 4th, 2021

Kalaupapa Gets Vaccinated

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Residents and employees in Kalaupapa received COVID-19 vaccines last week delivered to the settlement.

Dr. Glenn Wasserman, chief of the Communicable Disease and Public Health Nursing Division of the Hawaii Department of Health, and two DOH public health nurses flew to Kalaupapa Airport last Monday.

“It is gratifying to be able to protect our Kalaupapa patients and community with these vaccinations. Our patients are elderly with significant comorbidities that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19,” said Dr. Wasserman. “We’ll be back in four weeks to administer a second dose of the Moderna vaccine to those who have now received their initial inoculations.”…

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46,000 Pounds of Debris Removed from Beaches

Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

46,000 Pounds of Debris Removed from Beaches

TNC News Release

Despite travel and gathering limitations due to COVID-19, The Nature Conservancy’s Hawaii Chapter (TNC) and partners removed more than 46,000 pounds of marine debris from Molokai’s remote beaches at Mo‘omomi in the last quarter of 2020.

“We started cleaning the beaches more than 20 years ago,” said Wailana Moses, TNC’s Molokai field coordinator. “This year, we were still able to remove a lot of marine debris in spite of COVID-19, thanks to our partners and community pulling together and doing the work in a safe, physically distant way.”

TNC’s Mo‘omomi Preserve and its adjoining beaches are home to rich coastal marine life, culturally-important fishing grounds on which local families rely, and some of the most important green sea turtle nesting habitat in the main Hawaiian Islands.…

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Health Centers Statewide Get $1.3M for Telehealth

Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

HCF News Release

Fourteen Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across the state, including Molokai Community Health Center, received $1.3 million in grant awards, the Freeman Foundation and Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) announced. With guidance from Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA), the grants aim to increase access to and delivery of telehealth services at a time when such services are in greater demand due in part to stay-at-home orders and limited in-person appointments, and more people are relying on these centers overall for their medical needs.

“Throughout our work in the U.S. and Asia, we’ve seen how basic technology can facilitate connections and improve daily lives,” said Graeme Freeman, president of The Freeman Foundation.…

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Keiki Artist Winners

Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

Keiki Artist Winners

MAC News Release

The Molokai Arts Center (MAC) Member Art Show 2020 showcased Molokai’s keiki artists. Two keiki classes are held every Saturday: Session 1 from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. and Session 2 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. The MAC also hosts classes for Molokai Middle School (HLIP and Dolphins), Kualapu’u School 21st Century Program, Aka’ula Summer Session and other workshops as requested by agencies and schools. Congratulations to our young artists who submitted and won awards!

Most Innovative – Taua Lima-English “Tik Tak Toe Animal Set”
Most Whimsical – Laule’a Ledesma “Kookie”
Most Expressive – Keawe Koko Chong-Kalima “Kia’i”
Best in Self Expression – Odinn Moore “Fish Kitty Football”
Most Enchanting – Patience Purdy “Peach Blossom Elephant”
Most Delightful – Kolbie Kalima Ledesma “Turtle Turtle”
Best Island Aesthetic – Kaedyn Chong “Blue”
Emerging Artist – Kaizyn Chong “Stego”

Photos are posted on the MAC’s Facebook page.…

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Mahalo Mokulele

Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

Kalaupapa Airport has been like a gathering place for many of us over the years. Then once this COVID struck our islands with such devastation, all this has changed and necessary restrictions by the Dept. of Health have prevented us from gathering there. That all changed on Saturday morning, Jan. 16, 2021, although only for a brief time, when we gathered in our masks at Terminal 1 to await the return of Boogie to our little township. After a brief delay, Mokulele’s flight touched down and taxied to a halt. A cheer went up as Boogie was taken from the plane and wheeled into the terminal in his wheelchair.…

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Vaccine Rollout Continues on Molokai

Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

Vaccine Rollout Continues on Molokai

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai General Hospital administered about 700 COVID-19 vaccines last Thursday and Friday after receiving a shipment of 1000 doses last week, according to MGH President Janice Kalanihuia.
The hospital began Thursday working its way through residents in Dept. of Health vaccine phases 1a and 1b, which included healthcare personnel, residents over the age of 75 and frontline essential workers.

No appointment was needed, and the vaccines were administered on a first-come, first-served basis within the priority groups. Hospital staff directed residents to a special clinic set up where residents were screened to ensure they were part of phases 1a or 1b and answered basic health screening questions to receive the vaccine.…

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Participate in Affordable Housing Plan

Wednesday, January 20th, 2021

HCA News Release

Maui nonprofit Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA) will partner with Akaku: Maui Community Media to launch a months-long series of community meetings that will inform the County of Maui’s Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan.

Community meetings will be held for residents in the County’s eight community plan areas with follow-up meetings in plan areas determined most suitable for the building of 5,000 units of affordable housing over the next five years. Meetings will be limited to 100 attendees and held via Zoom to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Community area residents will be able to participate through online and phone call-in options with feedback managed through chat functions and facilitated discussion.…

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Vaccine Distribution Continues, County Amends Rules

Wednesday, January 20th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Molokai logged no new COVID-19 cases last week, as vaccine rollout continues, now including residents 75 years and older, along with healthcare and frontline essential workers.

Molokai General Hospital officials said they are “in the process of finalizing plans for immunization based on the Department of Health tier system.”

“At this time we will be focusing on anyone in Phase 1a and 1b,” read a statement from the hospital last week. “These phases are for health care personnel, adults 75 years or older, and frontline essential workers. We plan to quickly move to Phase 1c, Adults 65-74, persons aged 16-64 with high-risk medical conditions, and essential workers not recommended for vaccination in Phase 1b.”…

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