The Sunrise Ministry Foundation has announced three Puaka’ana o ka La (Rise Up!) awardees in conjunction with its fourth annual Journeys to Wellness seminar Oct. 31, which offers a variety workshops on practices that promote health and harmony in mind, body, spirit and the community.
Author Frances Kaku- gawa, one of the award winners, will also deliver the keynote address on "The Healing Power of Voice and Silence" to open the event, being held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Community Church of Honolulu, 2345 Nuuanu Ave. Prepaid registration is $25, or $30 at the door; $15 for full-time students and active military service personnel. The cost includes lunch and materials.
The annual Puaka’ana o ka La Awards presentation was launched in 2014 to recognize and honor those who have made long-standing and significant contributions toward the promotion of wellness in the individual and community.
Kakugawa is an award- winning author, poet, educator and inspirational speaker. Several of her 12 internationally published books are about bringing dignity to Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers. They include "I Am Somebody," "Mosaic Moon: Caregiving Through Poetry" and "Breaking the Silence."
She has received the Hawaii-Pacific Gerontological Society Award and appears in "Living Legacy: Outstanding Japanese Women of the 20th Century in Hawaii." She writes a monthly column in the Hawaii Herald. Born in Kapoho on Hawaii island, she now resides in Sacramento, Calif., and is a frequent visitor to Hawaii.
Other winners are Ho’oipo De Cambra and Dr. Kalani Brady:
>> De Cambra, a member of the board of directors of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center in Hawaii, promotes the involvement of indigenous people in their own research projects regarding health. A Native Hawaiian born in Papakolea, she was a co-founder of the Waianae Women’s Support Group, which encouraged the publication of women’s stories.
She has received the Allan Saunders award, recognizing the contribution of individuals toward the advancement of civil liberties in Hawaii, and was involved in developing and implementing the Peace Education Program in public schools in her community. She has worked with the American Friends Service Committee, consulting on Training for Transformation Workshops, which support the leadership of indigenous women.
>> Brady, who traces his roots to the Keli’ikanaka’oleaipolani family from Kauai, has a private medical practice at the Lau Ola Clinic in Kakaako and serves as an associate professor in the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. For the past 18 years he has appeared on the weekly segment "Ask the Doctor" on KHON, and was named Physician of the Year by the Hawaii Medical Association in 2007.
A panel of respondents to Kakugawa’s address includes Bishop Eric Matsumoto, head of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission in Hawaii, and the Rev. Ron Williams, senior minister of the Community Church of Honolulu since 2008. The moderator will be Puanani Burgess, a lecturer with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawaii, a widely acclaimed poet and cultural translator.
Workshops and facilitators include Corey S.C. Wong on taijiquan and qigong; Gregory Pai on mindfulness meditation and practices; Puanani Burgess on the essence of hooponopono; BettyAnn Kamakani on lomilomi; Sister Soo Yoo Kim on movement as prayer; Norman K. Oshiro on the Okada Health and Wellness Program; and Clarence Liu on the tao of caregiving.
Register and view the detailed schedule of speakers at sunriseministryfoundation.com. For more information, contact Ron Yamauchi at 839-6910; or Manu Nae’ole; or email sunriseministryinfo@gmail.com.
