Sacred Heart, Pahoa, parishioners gather for a town meeting Oct. 12. (Photo courtesy of Office for Social Ministry)
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace … where there is despair, let me bring hope.” (Prayer of St. Francis)
With a lava flow threatening, these words of St. Francis summed up why folks gathered in Avery Hall of Sacred Heart Parish in Pahoa for a Sunday potluck town meeting at noon on Oct. 12 to “talk story” about disaster preparedness and community resilience.
More than 125 people came to share questions, answers and information. They also began to map how to connect the parish’s vulnerable members to community resources. The gathering was a snapshot of Sacred Heart Parish — kupuna, including one 93-year-old tutu, and families with children of all ages. About one third were Micronesian, so the proceedings were translated into Chuukese.
A slow-moving lava flow has been moving toward Pahoa town for a number of weeks. It threatens to cross and block a major road, which would effectively isolate a portion of the community.
The parish town meeting was called by the parish council and Office for Social Ministry to provide members of the parish the opportunity to talk with and listen to each other.
The meeting opened with the questions: “What information do we need to prepare for the lava threat?” “Do we know family or neighbors who may need special assistance dealing with the threat?”
Those at the meeting took turns identifying on wall maps where they and their families live, identifying where neighbors who need special help live, and pinpointing where community resources such as doctors, nurses, social workers, health and social services and emergency facilities are located.
HOPE Services Hawaii, a diocesan agency, provided information it had gained from a door-to-door canvassing of the community with the Office of Aging to learn where the elderly live. Vital information surfaced. Some of the parish kupuna, who had not been mapped by the Office of Aging now will be registered for emergency transportation.
Many Micronesians had been poorly informed about lava flow evacuation plans. The parish asked the County Civil Defense to come the following weekend to address the parishioners’ specific concerns.
At its current rate of flow, the lava is expected to reach roads around Nov. 1.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
