Purpose
This site was created as a place to share my thoughts about topics we discuss in my Mālama Honua class, where we discuss our duty to take care of the land we live on and how to make Hawaii sustainable again.
This past summer I was asked to write a letter about my "promise to paeʻāina," and how more of Hawaii's youth must take responsibility and be more engaged in what happens here in our island home. I submitted my letter under Kamehameha schools and other students from other schools across the state did so as well. I encourage every student to ask themselves whether they care about the future of Hawaii as well as the planet as a whole, and if so, what can they do to make a difference, no matter how small.
Here is what I wrote for my Promise to Paeʻāina. Aloha, my name is Kamalei Marrotte and I am going to be a Senior at Kamehameha schools this coming school year. My life has been centered around the ocean for the majority of my life and it is for that reason that I pledge to help protect the ocean and everything in it from threats caused by modern society. This past school year I was able to take a Marine Science class in which I learned about tides, coral, marine plants, fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals. But the most interesting thing that I learned was that 70% of the oxygen on Earth comes from marine plants in the ocean, not trees on land. This stuck with me the most because it proves just how important it is to take care of our oceans. The more oil that leaks into our waters, the more diluted our waters become from the melting glaciers due to global warming, and the more trash drifting around harming marine animals, the closer we become to hurting our planet beyond repair. Cultures all around the world depend on the ocean for food and resources. Fishing is universal. No matter how it's done or what we're fishing for, cultures all around the world on the coasts depend on the ocean one way or another. The ocean connects us all, from island to island, from continent to continent. The way our ancestors traveled was by means of the ocean. Pilgrims came to America by boat, and Polynesians came to Hawaii by canoe. Despite what some people may think, the oceans don't separate us, they connect us. And that's how we're gonna come together to save our planet. I believe that Hōkūleʻa and the Polynesian Voyaging Society can achieve their goal of spreading awareness all across the world through the Mālama Honua voyage. In Hawaiian culture we are taught that if we mālama (take care of) the ʻāina (land) then the ʻāina will mālama us. We only have one planet and once we exhaust our resources, it'll be too late. I sincerely hope that the conference between the United Nations will be successful and spread awareness for this important issue. Let's all join our efforts and succeed in taking care of our planet for future generations to come. Sincerely, Kamalei Marrotte
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AuthorMy name is Kamalei Marrotte and I am currently a Senior at Kamehameha Schools and will graduate in the c/o 2017.
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