Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2021 — Hele no ka wai, hele no ka 'āla, ola ke kalo [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hele no ka wai, hele no ka 'āla, ola ke kalo

— ^ I OLA LOKAHI

By Sheri Daniels The makawai is the outlet from whieh the water flows from the 'auwai into the lo'i to nourish the entire patch of kalo whieh, in turn, sustains the community it feeds. 1his is the process Papa Ola Lōkahi is engaging in - to invest in and harvest that whieh feeds the community, building the capacity of the lāhui. We eall the program Nā Makawai. In March 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 designated $6.1 hillion to Hawai'i to devote to community recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $135 million provided to various heahh care initiatives, $20 million is specifically devoted to Native Hawaiian heahh, whieh Papa Ola Lōkahi has been tasked to distribute among a multitude of established organizations that provide various services throughout Hawaiian communities. Nā Makawai's two-year funding will be used to increase vaccine capacity, improve COVID-19 response and treatment capacity, increase eapaeity for accessible and available heahh care services, and deliver heahh education and services during the ongoing recovery and stabilization phases. The COVID-19 pandemic in Hawai'i has widened the gaps in access, affordability and availability to heahh care and highlighted the social and eeonomie disparities already being expe-

rienced by Native Hawaiians. To address such inequities, Nā Makawai is partnering with 20 organizations across five Hawaiian islands because of their stellar work in areas such as primary, dental, behavioral and mental heahh services, kūpuna care, pregnancy and maternal care, heahh workforce development, broadband access and telehealth, vaccination outreach and delivery, and heahh promotion, education and outreach. Throughout this two-year process, we will eollect meaningful data and evaluate the broad impacts of this investment Our Nā Makawai partners are: Hui Mālama Ola Nā 'Ōiwi, Ke Ola Mamo, Nā Pu'uwai, Ho'ola Lāhui Hawai'i, Hui No Ke Ola Pono, I Ola Lāhui, KULA no nā Po'e Hawai'i, Project Vision Hawai'i, Ho'oulu 'Āina at Kōkua Kalihi Valley, Kula Nui o Waimānalo, Puni Ke Ola, 'Auamo Consulting, Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations, Lunalilo Home, Kīpuka O Ke Ola, Kalauokekahuli, ALU LIKE, Department of Native Hawaiian Heakh (University of Hawai'i), AHARO (Hawaiian-serving community heahh centers), and Premier Medical Group. We look forward to highlighting the good work that these partners are doing to build capacity and amplify the heahh and wellbeing of their communities. ■ Sheri-Ann Daniels, Ed.D. is executive director ofPapa Ola Lōkahi, the Hawaiian Health Board that includes Office ofHawaiian Affairs among its members. Eaeh month Papa Ola Lōkahi will share precious community efforts that contribute to the heahh and wellbeing of Native Hawaiians and theirfamilies.