The ??? ??following message is from Dr. Mitchell Maki, president and CEO of Go For Broke National Education Center in Los Angeles.
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?The recent tragic fire in Maui has affected us all. Whether one has family on the island or whether one is from the continent, it does not matter. This human tragedy compels us all to want to respond.
As I read the many accounts of our nation’s response (and responses from around the world), the word kuleanasurfaces as a driving force. Roughly translated, kuleanais the Hawaiian word that refers to the righteous responsibility and obligation that we hold to care for one another. It is a sense of obligation not derived from being forced or required to care or respond, but rather it emanates from the sense of privilege to care for one another.?
?Many of the Japanese American soldiers of WWII felt that sense of obligation to one another. The obligation to look to your right and to your left and take care of the soldier who was beside you. Their kuleanaextended not only to each other, but to the generations to follow. Their actions continue to provide inspiration and an example for all Americans today.?
?The need for assistance and aid will continue for many years as Maui rebuilds itself. As the people of Maui struggle to literally rise from the ashes, we at Go For Broke National Education Center ask that we act upon our sense of obligation, our sense of kuleana. ?
?Below are organizations that have been shared with us from the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center in Maui. Let us follow the example of how our Nisei veterans took care of one another. We ask that you give what you can today and plan to give again in the not-so-distant future.?
Maui United Way (?www.mauiunitedway.org)???
?Maui Food Bank?(www.mauifoodbank.org?)??
Maui Economic Opportunity? (www.meoinc.org) ?
Maui Red Cross? (www.redcross.org)
Maui Humane Society (www.mauihumanesociety.org)