Pledge aloha for a peaceful community

The speaker for Kuikahi Mediation Center’s free talk Feb. 21 as part of its “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace” Brown Bag Lunch Series is Ilima DeCosta, who will present “I Pledge Aloha: For a Peaceful and Productive Community.”

“Aloha is a way of being or doing business and governance, and not just a word for commercial and media purposes,” DeCosta says. “To pledge aloha is to actively demonstrate akahai (kindness), lokahi (unity), oluolu (agreeableness), ha‘aha‘a (humility) and ahonui (patience).”

During this talk, learn how aloha is used in the Hawaii Revised Statues and gain information about the “I Pledge Aloha” community action.

DeCosta is kanaka maoli, born and raised in Kaneohe, Oahu, and moved to Hilo following the death of her daughter to gun violence. She is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. An avid gardener and conservationist, DeCosta instigated the HMSA Homeless Innovation Project, which helped launch the “housing as healthcare” initiative. Reducing interpersonal violence and increasing good health is her goal.

Kuikahi’s lunch series is free and open to the public. Talks are hosted from noon-1 p.m. the third Thursdays of each month in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, 655 Kilauea Ave., in Hilo. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch, enjoy an informal and educational talk-story session and meet others interested in “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace.”

For more information, contact Kuikahi program coordinator Majidah Lebarre at 935-7844, ext. 3, or email majidah@hawaiimediation.org. You also can visit www.hawaiimediation.org.