Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2006 — Lānaʻiʻs first community resource coordinator [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Lānaʻiʻs first community resource coordinator

Colette Y. Machadū Trustee, Moloka'i aud Lāna'i

Aloha kākou! It brings me great pleasure to weleome into the Office of Hawaiian Affairs 'ohana Pearl Ah Ho as Lāna'i's first community resource coordinator. As the trustee representing the islands of Moloka'i and Lāna'i, it is an honor to announee to the Hawaiian community of Lāna'i that they now have direct access to OHA's services and programs. For the 25 years of OHA's existence, Hawaiian families on Lāna'i have never had their own community resource coordinator. In order to access OHA's programs and services, beneficiaries would have to either eall the OHA office on Moloka'i or eall our main office on O'ahu. I wanted to provide our readers on Lāna'i and throughout Hawai'i a ho'olauna, or introduction, of Pearl, and wish her the best of luek with her new position. Pearl was born on Lāna 'i and raised partially at the Kaumalapau Harbor Village and partially at Ho'olehua, Moloka'i. Her father, Ah Sing Ah Ho, and mother, Emma Kimokeo, were both from Hawai'i island. Pearl's mother and her family lived at Kaumalapau. Pearl's father went to Lāna'i with a group of men to work in the pineapple field. When she was a young child, her parents made a decision to apply for Hawaiian homestead land on Moloka'i. They were awarded 40 acres and moved the family to Moloka'i. Pearl says that it was her parent's "way of looking toward the future." Pearl's dad used to work for Isleway on Lāna'i. Pearl stayed on Moloka'i until she was 15 years old, when she moved back to Lāna'i. She

graduated two years later from Lāna'i High and Elementary School (LHES). Since graduating from high school, Pearl has held several different oeeupations on Lāna'i. These include a position as a communications aide at LHES, a motor vehicle registration clerk for Maui County, and an agent for Royal Hawaiian Air Service. Like many Lāna'i residents, Pearl is a farmer employee of the Lāna'i Company. She worked as an office manager and human resources benefits manager. Pearl is currently employed by the County of Maui (Office of Council Services) as a part-time eouneil aide. She also works for Hui Mālama Pono O Lāna'i as a community coordinator and the River of Life Ministries International - Lāna'i, as secretary/treasurer. Pearl is the mother of three children: Ricky (35), Roxanne (33) and Ross (24). Ricky, a staff sergeant in the Army, is stationed in E1 Paso, Texas, with his wife Shala and two sons, Kealaula O Lāna'i Hale and Kahale O Lāna'i. In her spare time Pearl is a kumu hula at the church she attends. She teaches and continues to learn about the Hebrew language. She loves to sing and also enjoys learning more about Lāna'i. With her new position, Pearl intends to help educate the Hawaiian community on Lāna'i about the opportunities available to them. By far, the most challenging part of her position is that she doesn't have an office. Although arrangements were made for an office space, delays have kept Pearl working out of her home. OHA's administration is working diligently toward finding a suitable office space on Lāna'i for Pearl very soon. Until then, Pearl ean be reached at (808) 565-7094. As a final note, Pearl shared a favorite saying that she uses to guide her in her daily tasks, especially as it relates to community service: "when one takes with one hand, one must also give back with the other. In this way, you replenish what was taken so that others ean also benefit." E3