Share Aloha

By Léo Azambuja

I’m always amazed by how far aloha can go.

Last month, a friend of mine, Richard Duarte, a local boy from Pakalas, returned home from three hard-core surgeries on the Mainland. Thankfully, he is expected to make a full recovery and live a normal life, surf and work like it never happened.

However, his medical bills and living expenses will not make life any easier for him and his family, even with the health insurance picking up its share. Well aware of this, a couple of his co-workers at a resort in Nawiliwili set up an online crowdfunding account at Give Forward to help out Richard and his family.

When Richard arrived back on Kaua‘i, he had no idea the account existed. By the third week of April, the online campaign had more than $27,000 in pledges from friends, co-workers, family and resort guests, all of them wishing Richard a healthy recovery. A handful of them pledged $1,000 each, but even the smallest amounts add up.

It was truly amazing to see that many people giving away money without expecting any personal gains in exchange. True aloha spirit.

I was amazed, but I shouldn’t have been. After all, aloha is the most precious thing we have to share here on Kaua‘i. Aloha is love, and love is one and many things at the same time.

The great thing is, we don’t really have to spend money to share aloha. Even in Richard’s case, aloha is free. Just share a positive thought with him and you will see how much it will add to his healing.

We can and should share aloha every day; with our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, strangers, everyone.

And in this month of May, we all should share a little extra aloha with our mothers; they deserve it more than anyone.

Happy Mothers Day!