July 9, 2014 - Volume 30, Issue 28
The
Molokai Dispatch p T h e i s l a n d ’s n e w s s o u r c e s i n c e 1985
Lei in Remembrance By Laura Pilz | Staff Writer
W
ith colorful lei draped carefully over each arm, volunteers set out across the gently sloping Papaloa cemetery in Kalaupapa last week with the goal of honoring and remembering each and every kupuna buried on the peninsula. Pausing briefly at each marker to lay a hand or say a quiet prayer, the group quietly made their way through the acres of headstones, lovingly leaving a lei at each one. The Makanalua peninsula, commonly known as Kalaupapa, serves as the final resting place for thousands of Hansen’s disease patients who were once banished there. After more than a century of being exiled to the peninsula, patients were given the freedom to leave Kalaupapa on June 30, 1969, when Hawaii Revised Statute 32 lifted the ban on their isolation.
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the lifting of this ban and honor all who lived and died there, 1400 lei were distributed to the four major cemeteries and every known burial site across the peninsula last Monday by a nonprofit organization called Hui Malama Makanalua. “None of these kupuna will ever be forgotten,” said Kalaupapa National Park Service (KNPS) worker and cultural practitioner, Miki`ala Pescaia during the event’s opening ceremony. “We come to honor them. We come to recognize and show our appreciation for each and every one of them. “ Pescaia added that “we work today to forgive and work to restore all of the aloha back into these grounds that has been taken away.” The project, called “Lei Hali`a O Kalaupapa” or “lei in remembrance of Kalaupapa” was created by Kerri Inglis, associate professor of history at the University of Hawaii, Hilo along with her current and past students, friends and family, many of whom have ancestral ties to the peninsula. “The core group began with service trips we’ve been doing to Kalaupapa over the past seven or eight years,” said Inglis. “The last few years as part of the trip we take the time to make lei one evening and ask the students to choose some sites to place the lei.”
During one such trip, Inglis and her students saw KNPS workers placing flags on the graves of veterans. She said the visual of flags and lei commemorating all those buried there got them thinking. “We started talking and thought wouldn’t it be good if we had enough lei for everyone. Everyone should have a lei and be remembered in that way,” she said. Although only 1,200 of the graves are marked, Hui Malama Makanalua placed lei at known unmarked burial sites as well, in order to commemorate all 8,000 individuals who lived and died on the peninsula from 1866 to 1969.
Lei Continued pg. 3
Photos by Laura Pilz
Grassroots Concert Raises Money and Awareness
By Bianca Moragne | Staff Writer
I
n a world full of fast-food, imported groceries and processed snacks, a Molokai organization is combating the food norm to promote eating local. The concept of eating and buying local can be daunting but that hasn’t stopped The MOM Hui—and its grassroots network of like-minded advocates, farmers, vendors and ohana—from promoting sustainability, a healthy environment and a conscious lifestyle. Hundreds of attendees gathered under a star-lit sky last Saturday to promote this vision at Duke Maliu Park for the second annual Grassroots Benefit Concert organized by The MOM Hui. “I want the community to be conscious of the impact we can have on our environment through the choices we make, the food we eat, the way we decide to grow our food and how we take care of this environment,” said MOM Hui founder Mercy Ritte. “It’s all relative and related.” Keiki participated in educational activities by sampling wheat grass, learning the importance of bee pollination, gardening and more. Molokai youth and statewide entertainers like I-land Flavah and Napua Greig performed numbers ranging from popular reggae tunes to songs that perpetuated the evening’s message. “Eating local foods will build a stronger community,” said organizer Kealoha
Grassroots Continued pg. 2
This Week’s
Dispatch
Ice Challenge Warms Hearts
Krazy for Kolea Kontest
Pg. 2
Pg. 3
The
Molokai Dispatch
P.O. Box 482219 Kaunakakai, HI 96748
4-H Ranchers Put Skills to the Test By Bianca Moragne | Staff Writer
J
udged on their stance, temperament, muscle mass and ability to follow direction, pigs and steer competed with their owners for top ribbon last weekend. The animals were gathered under white tents at the Kaunakakai Ball Park as eager fans filled the stands ready to cheer on keiki as they showed off their prized animals. For months, youth in the Molokai 4-H Livestock Club, have been raising, grooming, keeping records and showing their animals in preparation for the annual Molokai 4-H Livestock Expo last weekend. The program promotes agriculture and teaches children responsibility and the business aspect of life, said Event Director Rex Kamakana. 4-H stands for “head, heart, hands and health” and is a national educational organization. On Molokai, the students are involved in a livestock program and are challenged with real-life issues as they learn responsibility through raising, showing and judging livestock, Kamakana said. For 4-H-er James Borden, Molokai High School (MHS) junior, three years of participation and preparation culminated in taking first place in the market steer grand
championship. “It felt real good to win,” Borden said. “This year I worked on my steer more and kept my eye contact with the judge. Next year, I want to try my best and try to win it again.” There are 25 keiki, from as young as five-years-old to high school seniors, involved in the Molokai 4-H Livestock Club. At the Expo each summer, the participants have their animals judged in two competitions on a set of priorities that represent the industry. It’s like a beauty pageant for animals, said second-year judge Gabriel Ponce when describing the set criteria each animal is judged upon in competition. In the market steer and hog competition, animals are judged on their looks. That includes muscle, balance, fat content and structure, which must all be combined so the animal is not only the best animal to eat, but has quality physical traits, Ponce said. Besides looking good on the field, the animals are judged on how well their handlers can present them with control and leadership in the ring in the steer and hog showmanship competition. “Those that work at home and practice every single day, it shows because their ani-
Polinahe Bishaw Mokiao, winner of the reserve championship in the showmanship division stands next to her pig. Photos by Bianca Moragne.
mals are calm and cooperative,” Ponce said. “It eliminates the quality and puts more emphasis on the kids that work hard and their
4-H Expo Continued pg. 2