Yesterday I had breakfast at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center restaurant with Ka‘iu Kimura, the executive director of ‘Imiloa; Chad Kalepa Babayan, ‘Imiloa’s Navigator in Residence, and Nico Verissimo, ‘Imiloa’s Membership & Fund Development Manager.

We meet periodically to catch up on the goings on at ‘Imiloa. I am always amazed at ‘Imiloa’s progress and evolution. Steadily, inexorably, ‘Imiloa is becoming the focal point where people come together to help the larger community.

Ka‘iu talked about how people from all over the world are interested in knowing how ‘Imiloa joins together modern science with Hawaiian cultural values. She is running out of space to accommodate all the requests to participate. Can someone out there help to fund the expansion?

It was a far-ranging conversation. Kalepa mentioned that Mau Piailug, who passed away recently, was known for helping to train our modern day Hawaiian navigators. But Kalepa says the most important thing Mau stood for was teaching about the oneness of mankind. He was all about taking care of each other. We are all of one race–the human race.

In our conversation yesterday, it hit me that ‘Imiloa is becoming the beacon where that message is broadcast. It is awe-inspiring.

This article Kalepa wrote in yesterday’s Star-Advertiser is a classic. Although everyone knows that Mau played a major role in the resurgence in Hawaiian navigation, few know that he was about much more than that. The article sets the record straight.

You need to read Kalepa’s account–it is inspirational.