Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 7, 1 July 1997 — Poet helps addicts 'get clean' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Poet helps addicts 'get clean'

by Uila Fotu Currently the executive director of Ho'omau Ke Ola, a substance abuse treatment program on the Wai'anae Coast, Ho'oipo DeCambra impacts the largest Hawaiian community in the state. DeCambra, a four-year veteran at Ho'omau Ke Ola, helps drug and aleohol addicts "get elean." The program focuses on native Hawaiians while using Hawaiian methods and activities as a practical part of treatment. "Using Hawaiian ideas to help people heal is something I feel strongly about," said DeCambra. "For the people recovering," she says, "the idea of learning about their eulture gives them a purpose for living, a purpose for getting cleaned up, and it changes the way they see themselves and their lives." Ho'omau Ke Ola is working on a half-hour video presentation that will expIore the ways culture ean heal. It will show the uniqueness of their substance abuse treatment pro- -

gram. The video, funded through a grant provided by OHA, is scheduled to be ,, released sometime in the fall. DeCambra was born and ' raised in Papakōlea, a Hawaiian homestead. She grew up at a time in the 1950s when being Hawaiian was not popular. "I ean remember my mother being steeped in her Hawaiian rituals." she savs. "She was

told not to live the culture although it was her whole environment...those were the most impressionable years of my hfe." Those early years seemed to have paved her travel for the rest of her hfe. As a young mother, she became more

aware of the issues facing the Hawaiian eommunity, especially Hawaiian women, and decided that she could make a difference. DeCambra has been a strong advocate of health care and social justice in the Hawaiian community. As a co-principal investigator of the Women's Cancer Research Project, she represented the state of Hawai'i and native

Hawaiian women's concerns on breast cancer at a summit in Washington, D.C., in 1990. According to DeCambra, native Hawaiian women have the highest mortality rates due to breast cancer. Shb,ei5gouraged the publication of women's stories as a co-founder of the Wai'anae Women's Support Group, whieh began in 1979. DeCambra worked nl-n 4-V* A

3riends Service Committee for 12 years before moving on to become a member of the Board of Direc- , tors of the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center where she promotes the involvement of indigenous

people m their own research projects regarding health. "On a national level, DeCambra [has] underlined the need for cultural appropriateness in health care services," said Dr. Naleen Andrade, head of the Department of Psychiatry at the

University of Ha wai' i-Mānoa School of Medicine. "It's very important to remember, "said Andrade, "that her efforts had nahonal

impncanons ror otner native people." DeCambra has had the fortune of travelling to many foreign and distant lands. Among her destinations have included Palau, Saipan, the Marshall Islands, Japan, Geneva and India. "In my travels I learned a great deal from the people I eame in contact with. Coming in contact with them in terms of my work really opened up my world view and taught me," DeCambra said. DeCambra is also a poet. "We are all poets from birth," she says, "every single one of us. It's just a matter of eaeh of us taking the time to discover the poet in us. I was fortunate that I had friends who taught me how to take the time to pull out those words." Her very first poem, whieh speaks of her birthplace, is entitled "Ka Papa Kōlea." DeCambra is a part of a poetry group called Nā Haku Mele o Wai'anae, a group of loeal women writers who give writing workshops and public readings. With other poets, she also gives poetry readings for the Hawai'i Literary Council. "Ho'oipo has touched a number of

lives, even by sharing a poem," said Nancy Aleek, a long-time friend. "She opens her heart and connects with people on a real human level." Leading by example, DeCambra has made a difference in the loeal eommunity. "If there was sainthood for lay people, she would have gotten it years ago," said loeal physician Dr. Terry Shintani. "She has a strong, positive and spiritual presence about her." "To know Ho'oipo," said Andrade, "is to know a phenomenon 1 that rarely comes." |

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Hāpapa Mōmona is a Ka Wai Ola o OHA feature showcasing people from the Hawaiian community making a difference «|||p| Call 594-1 980 wilh suggestions for •

Ka Papa Kōlea Plumena fragrance Children like trees : Hillsides blooming morning glories, And night-blooming cereus. Kahuna woman, where are you going? Life-giving woman Anchored, rooted in time A time to remove pain Sin, the yoke of oppression. Kahuna woman, where are you?

Ho'oipo DeCambra