MAUI He misionari kā mākou We have a mission

Assistance to disaster

Aloha, I am a teacher at Lahainaluna (Science, ELL) for over 20 years. My life revolved around the Lahaina Harbor area and my work at the school.

As I was thinking about Lahaina what came to mind was what was told to me by many Hawaiians. They shared with me that Lahaina is a place of incredible importance for native Hawaiians. I recently took a field trip to Lahaina town with my colleagues. The teachers of Lahainaluna came down to Lahaina and engaged in activities and lessons that remind us how important our town is not as a tourist destination but as a place where historic events took place. King Kameamea made Lahaina his royal residence.We take great pride in knowing that royalty and Chiefs were educated at Lahaina High School. And at our high school King Kameameha III drafted the first constitution. Lahaina was also used as a world port for whaling, there is a lot of history left behind from that era. We have a giant smokestack. That to me seems to glorify a time, when people were worked very hard, and the land was turned upside down for pineapple and sugarcane.