Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 8, 1 August 2020 — Aloha mai kākou, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha mai kākou,

/ 'ŌLELO A KA POUHANA V ^ MESSAGE FROM THE CEO r

THE A B I L I TY TO B E AG I L E AND PIVOT 'eleu (vs. Active, alert, energetic, lively, nimhle, quick, dexterous, agile, prompt) 'Ūniu (v.i. To pivot)

Celebrating success is the focus of the August edition of Ku Wai Ola. We are taking time to pause in the midst of the chaos this pandemic has wrought, to take a deep cleansing and reflective breath between the extremely critieal Primary and General Elections, and simply share inspiring stories from our lāhui. This issue celebrates a few of the creative people and innovative programs that are, individually and collectively, writing a new COVID-19 narrative, one in whieh Native Hawaiians don't just survive, but thrive. Our people have a history of being agile and able to pivot quickly as circumstances change and new opportunities are presented. We were early adopters of technology; one example of this is electricity. When King Kalākaua visited the 1881 International Exposition of Electricity in Paris during his world tour, he was fascinated and quickly saw the potential. He later secured an introduction to Thomas Edison and, upon his return to Hawai'i, he pursued his vision of a city bright with electric lights. 'Iolani Palaee turned on its lights for the first time in 1886. By 1888, Honolulu city lights became a reality, and by 1 890 some 800 Honolulu homes had electricity at a time when most people in Europe and America still used kerosene lamps. Albert Einstein wrote that "the measure of intelligence is the ability to change." At the end of the day, the ability to be agile and to pivot in a crisis; to reimagine processes or services, or to completely change direction if necessary, is what determines success. In our cover story, the lockdown this past spring allowed Waimea Valley on O'ahu and other natural places to rest. As a result, the current konohiki for the valley are looking for new ways to share the beauty and mo'olelo of this wahi pana in ways that are more meaningful to kama'āina, reduce eeonomie reliance on tourism, and preserve the renewed heahh of the natural environment. We also share the stories of two schools that have adapted technology to meet the new, remote learning needs of their haumāna, kumu hula and kumu mele who are using

Zoom in this time of social distancing, a rural heahh elinie that pivoted 180 degrees when the pandemic hit in order to mālama their patients, two success stories from the Kahiau emergency financial assistance program, an innovative program that teaches job skills to youth who might otherwise fall through the cracks, a young 'ōiwi entrepreneur whose business is growing despite the recession, how Hina

Hawai'i has modified it's business to service clients, and more These are trying times and our ability to adjust and adapt will determine our individual and collective success. There is an 'ōlelo no'eau, "maka'ala ke kanaka kāhea manu; a man who calls birds should always be alert." The kaona i for this saying is that if we wish to succeed we must be I alert to every opportunity, like the kia manu (bird catchers). t

On the journey ahead, regardless of it's challenges, I hope we ean all remain maka'ala to the opportunities that present themselves and find within ourselves the ability and the willingness to be agile and to pivot our way to strengthening our 'ohana, mo'omeheu and 'āina. ■

Sylvia M. Hussey, Ed.D. Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive Offlcer