How do we begin to take care of the needs of our families and of our communities:

We can start with what is right before us: actually affordable housing, clean food, good health, a community we cherish.

We can begin with better access to land and water. We are defined by our relation to our 'aina, and how we receive nourishment from it. And without access to the tremendous reservoir of pubic trust waters, it may be near impossible to develop subsistence agricultures throughout the County of Maui.

To build community we need to return certain rights to our communities. Without homes, without access to enough land and water to care for our families, we are essentially dispossessed.

Those helping guide the political process must care enough about our communities, that they begin to invest in our futures and those of our children. We must not allow our aquifers to be poisoned, overpumped or otherwise impaired. Burning of cane, a great public health hazard, must stop. And the rights of access to our 'aina, for homes and for the development of sustainable agriculture, must be reestablished.

The health and well-being of our communities turns on each of us. We cannot ignore those in need, nor allow the continued misuse of our agricultural lands, which, appropriately diversified, hold great potential for our island communities.

Most of this must happen locally and include both our educational and healthcare systems, which are not served by off-island management and control.

Let's begin the change. 

Endorsed by The Sierra Club, Maui