Waipi’o is the place where I learned to swim, to surf, to dive and fish. I’m 36 now and it’s where I have been teaching my 3 children to swim, to surf, to fish and to dive …. Itʻs been a vital role in allowing me to continue to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture. Waipi’o to my family and I is like our church.

Waipiʻo has a presence that I feel when I just think of her. The valley walls, towering and pili with clouds at their end; the water-rich basin, gifting the capacity to sustain life like few others; the shifting black sand and boulder shore; the muliwai, where I teach my keiki to fish; and the powerful ocean who’s waves have provided me such joy and rejuvenation. To hold these experiences, and to continue these experiences with my ʻohana and community, is something I will not allow to slip away. I hope our voices come together to craft a future in which Waipiʻo thrives as do the people who love her so dearly.

Waipi’o for my ohana is a place to connect with the ocean, the land, and our sense of place. It provides us a way to exercise, reset, and teach our son about currents, tides, habitats, and history. I guess we all didn’t realize just how important it was for our mental and physical well-being until this closure. We had always assumed that our rights to access the coast were not something that could just be taken away overnight.