We were honored to be asked by the administration of the Hawai‘i High Schools Athletic Association to paint the four walls of their building on the Kaimukī High School campus. Aligned with the launch of new afterschool program of Hālau Pāheona in the spring of 2016, it was a perfect time to teach our haumāna (students) what the values are of “aloha” and how they match the values of sports.

The values of Aloha that we taught the ‘ōpio were the following. “Aloha” is the love of self. It expands to love of family, love of community and love of the whole world. If our work is grounded in “Aloha,” we come in peace and everything will be all right. The fundamental Hawaiian values that make up the meaning of “Aloha” in all that we do, are:

Akahai is defiined as kindness and it is to be expressed with tenderness.
Lokahi is defiined as unity and it is expressed with harmony.
‘Olu‘olu is defiined as agreeable and it is expressed with pleasantness.
Ha‘aha‘a is defiined as humility and it is expressed with modesty.
Ahonui  is defiined as patience and it is expressed with perseverance.

The five values surrounded around the building along with the colors of the rainbow to express the spirit of aloha and bridging of haumāna that normally would not talk to each other in school. Weʻre proud of all the youth that helped us complete the first Hālau Pāheona mural project.