Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 3, 1 April 1984 — Human Services Specialist Answers Nagging Question [ARTICLE]

Human Services Specialist Answers Nagging Question

Sam Holt is a Human Services Specialist in the Education and Human Services division headed by Kamuela Apuna. In his everyday work schedule, Holt comes in contact with many people and all kinds of organizations. Heisprimarily in touch with Hawaiians. He listens to them, raps with them and tries to help them any way he ean. Holt has found that one of the most often-asked questions about OHA is: What is OHA doing for the Hawaiians? He admits this is a very simple and inquiring question and he tries to answer it in this manner. When OHA first eame into existence, Trustees found five major areas of eoneem:

• Land. The Hawaiian people had lost so mueh land. • Education. The great need for improving one's self was through education. • Culture. There was a need to preserve what we knew and to initiate a need for culture awareness. • Eeonomie development. Hawaiians found out how little they had in this area.

• Human services. This covered everything missed by the other four concerns. The question then should not be what OHA is doing but what OHA has done. Voter registration leads the field. It brought the Hawaiians politically together. There were less than 8,000 registered Hawaiian voters prior to 1980. This was increased by 25,000 in 1980 when 43,000 Hawaiians registered to vote for the OHA and general elections. This number increased to 64,000 registered Hawaiians in 1982. The Hawaiians have shown they are concerned and are willing to give direction to their future.

Holt notes, however, that there are certain responsibilities in this willingness to direct their future. • Register to vote — and VOTE. • T rust those you have elected and support them. • Try and understand all issues eonfronting you. • Learn all you ean about OHA — it is your agency.