First Round of Coloring Pages

On Tuesday, August 8th, the historic town of Lahaina was taken by a devastating wildfire. The fire destroyed over 2000 structures from homes to historical buildings. Hundreds are still missing and those who survived are returning to their town to pick up the pieces and bury their loved ones.

As a community we have been able to come together to raise funds and awareness for our Maui family. We have donated $2000 in inventory of blankets, shirts, hats, and pareu. We have also donated over $3000 to the Kakoo Maui Fund as well as directly to a select number of families affected by the fires.

The battle to recovery is just beginning so we ask that you continue to love, pray for, and remember to support Maui in whatever way is possible.

Second Round of Coloring Pages

This round of pages we ask you donate directly to the organizations or families we have highlighted or to another.

Explanation for the phrases on the pages:

Ola i ka wai - Ola i ka aina - Ola i ke aloha

Conceptualizing the phraseology

These phrases have been simplified to make the Hawaiian language more accessible to the learner and the novice.

In creating the concept for these coloring pages, the phrase, “Ola ke kanaka i ka wai” was presented. However, this constrained the phrase to a narrow interpretation. A more ambiguous phraseology was sought after which would allow the phrase to connect to multiple contexts and a wider audience.

Breaking down the meaning

Given the context, the word ola has varying meaning such as to live, survive, thrive, etc. The word “sustain,” is synonymous with these words. From the Hawaiian perspective the phrase “Ola i ka wai” may be translated as “sustained by water” implying that people are sustained by the water we drink. It also sustains the natural marine life, animals and plant life we consume to live. All of this and more is sustained by water.

Translating meaning vs Translating word for word

This phrasing of “Sustained by water” was changed to “Water sustains us.” This is an example of where a liberty in translation has taken place. The meaning of the Hawaiian phrase has been maintained and appropriately represented through an English way of phrasing. Unfortunately, direct translations are commonplace these days, but they often come with the degradation of the Hawaiian language.

Wrap up

The explanation for the word ola applies to all three phrases. The last word in each phrase specifies what we are sustained by this could be wai (water), aina (land) or aloha (love). The word aloha is often equated to the word “love,” however, this is a complete oversimplification. No single word in English can encompass the meaning, history and application of aloha. However, if there was a word that more closely resembles the word, it would be “charity.” Here are some of its meanings:

"help, especially in the form of money, given freely to people who are in need, for example because they are sick, poor, or have no home, and organizations that provide this help:"

"the quality of being kind to people and not judging them in a severe way"

Mahalo to @ka_alala and @nikkiloveartwork for their help in making these pages.