August 1, 2003 was my first day on the job as Executive Director of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation. I wanted to start by properly grounding myself in this place, so on my lunch hour I went to the area just below Ulupō Heiau in Kailua, just behind the Windward YMCA, looking for Doc Burrows. The late Dr. Chuck Burrows was one of the community leaders dedicated to restoring Kawainui Marsh, the 880-acre ancient fishpond that was a major source of protein for Kailua’s residents for hundreds of years. When Doc and his team started clearing away the brush and invasive plants at the base of the heiau, they found a spring there. That spring and its ‘auwai are now used to irrigate loʻi kalo that have been replanted by Kauluakalana, a fabulous new nonprofit organization.
I realized then that the Foundation’s endowment is like a spring, created by Mr. Castle’s generous gifts of Koʻolaupoko land and other assets to create the Foundation as a nonprofit organization in 1962. It’s important to note that this spring of philanthropic wealth created by Harold Castle has also been fed by the thousands of Kailua and Kāneʻohe residents and businesses who paid lease rents to the Foundation over the decades and who bought their fees under their homes when they finally won the right to do so. And now, the board and staff are the stewards of this spring, trying to keep it perpetual through wise investment in the stock and bond markets while also wisely using the five percent that trickles out each year to have the greatest benefit for those we serve.
The Foundation doesn’t own any land anymore, but we’re just as focused on Koʻolau communities as we’ve ever been. For years, we’ve worked with schools, nonprofits, and colleges throughout the region to dramatically increase the number of youth who earn a promising credential, secure a good job, and contribute to their community. We also aim to ensure that all the region’s sixth graders graduate with an ‘aina aloha mindset and the resiliency and civic skills needed to protect and restore the watersheds and fisheries of Koʻolauloa and Koʻlaupoko. More recently, we’ve started to help strengthen communities’ ability to adapt to the effects of climate change. This region is richly endowed with wise, dedicated, innovative community leaders who have helped to guide and inspire the Foundation’s work.
But what is our kuleana as stewards of this spring? Who decides who gets to take water from the spring, how the ‘auwai should flow, and which taro patches it should nourish? And how do we know that we’re using this resource well to help ‘āina and people to thrive? Those were some of the questions I pondered on that first day, and they are questions we must still ponder today. As we look forward to what comes next for the Foundation, I’m pleased to share this video looking back at our work in Koʻolau communities.
Mahalo,
Terry George
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