HANAPEPE — Members of the Hanapepe Senior Center approached the world with a renewed sense of hope and joy on Tuesday following a special blessing officiated by Kahu Kauilani Kahalekai and her helper, Pearl Ajimine, at the Hanapepe Recreation Center.
“The reason for this special meeting is due to my world, your world, and the entire world just turned upside down as COVID swept the world,” said Hanapepe Senior Center member Sadie Doi.
“Yes, we couldn’t meet; we couldn’t visit the care facilities to bring sunshine to lighten their stays away from their families. Life just looked gloomy, and especially we elders who were at home without interaction became somewhat lonely.”
“As we slowly began to be allowed to return, we found our center had been robbed, the building had been damaged, and old, unfixed items were still unfixed,” Doi said. “I approached my center officers to see if we could start the new year with a blessing.”
Kahalekai said the place is important, and extended her blessings to cover not only the Hanapepe Senior Center group, but the people who care for the Hanapepe Recreation Center, expelling any sense of negativity, and hope for the return to the center she remembered as a pleasant place that felt good to be in.
The vein of the blessing is similar to the traditional Asian blessings for the new year, where thanks are offered for the past and wishes for bad spirits to leave, reinforced by the appearance of the Chinese lion and firecrackers. Further, the Japanese Shinto erect kadomatsu, or a pine arrangement, instills the belief that kadomatsu are the home of spirits that usher in good fortune.
Kahalekai’s helper, Ajimine, distributed Hawaiian salt to all the attendees, asking them to expel negativity by breathing on the salt. Once done, each member adjourned to outside the center to place the salt anywhere they wanted good fortune to take place.
The negativity expelled, Kahalekai further cleansed the air by offering individualized blessings to each soul present, with the end result being the sense of renewal and hope.
Members of the Hanapepe Senior Center, falling under the umbrella of the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation and Na Kupuna Council, include Jennell Balmidiano, Connie Baniaga, Betty Bolosan, Alice Brown, Claudine Cable, John Cable, Joan Contival, Carolyn Cummings, Noko Greene, Karen Ikemoto, Gayle Lindmark, Marv Lindmark, Hidemi Matsumoto, Sachi Mori, Kazue Nakata, Sharon Pancho, Jo Ann Robinson, Tina Sakamoto, Janet Shimonishi, Janet Takeya, Sandy Tateyama and Novena Valdez.
Its leadership team includes President Jo Ann Robinson, Vice President Kazue Nakata, Secretary/Treasurer Karen Ikemoto and Sergeant-At-Arms Alice Brown.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
