Aloha District 5000 Rotarians,
My grandfather was a fisherman on the east end of Molokaʻi, in a small fishing village near Pūkoʻo. In the late 1800s, he helped build and maintain the fishponds that fed families along that coast for generations. His specialty was squid and octopus, and his knowledge of the many “squid holes” in the area became legendary. But one of the things I remember most from the stories my grandmother told was what happened when he came home from the ocean. He would lay out his catch, set aside what his family needed, and then carefully wrap at least a third of what he had caught in newspaper. Those packages would be delivered to neighbors throughout the village. He didn't do it because someone had asked. He didn't keep track of who owed him something in return. It was simply what people did.
My grandmother taught me the Hawaiian word for that practice: kahiau — to give generously with no expectation of return.
Fishermen shared fish. Farmers shared kalo, ʻuala, fruit, or whatever their land produced. Families looked after kūpuna, watched one another's children, and helped neighbors when help was needed. You shared because you were part of a community, and the strength of that community depended upon everyone looking after one another.
Nearly a century later, kahiau remains part of who we are in Hawaiʻi—and I believe it also describes Rotary at its very best.
Every time a Rotarian gives a Saturday morning to a service project, mentors a young person, responds after a disaster, contributes to The Rotary Foundation, or quietly helps someone who may never know their name, they are practicing kahiau.
As we continue building a stronger District 5000, I hope we remember that our greatest strength will never be the number of meetings we hold or programs we create. It will be our willingness to give something of ourselves for the benefit of others.
And just as my grandfather could feed more than his own family by sharing what the ocean provided, imagine what becomes possible when nearly 1,400 Rotarians across our islands decide to share their time, talent, relationships, and resources.
That is the Rotary I want us to build together.
Kahiau. Give generously. Expect nothing in return. And trust that when enough of us live that way, the entire community becomes stronger.
Me ke aloha,
District Governor
Rotary District 5000