Can you recall a single week in the last eight months which has not revealed another shocking revelation of the COVID-19 crisis? Loss of jobs and income, standing in food lines, applying for unemployment benefits, struggling with online learning for our keiki, keeping kupuna safe — combined with the uncertainty of shutdowns, openings, quarantines, and “reopenings” — at best it feels like we are barely managing the chaos.

This is one of the most difficult times Hawaii has known. Many are awakening to the realization that no one is coming to save us. What then do we have to rely on but each other?

For millennia, Hawaii thrived on its own self-reliance. Our ali‘i and kupuna developed a socially and economically productive process that relied on our ability to live within our environment, with each other, on a thriving ‘aina. That resilience was based on our relationship with each other, in our ‘ohana or family, and extended to our local and island communities. It is this kind of relationship that we must now rely on to bring us all together to face the challenges of our day, for the sake of our ‘aina, our residents, and our beloved home, Hawaii.

‘Aina Aloha Economic Futures (ainaalohafutures.com) is an initiative around which over 2,600 community members and organizations have coalesced in support of a more just and equitable society that our community and ‘aina deserve. The AAEF Authors declared a common set of values, co-created an action agenda, an assessment tool and facilitated a process for communities to submit ideas to forward these. There was no authority granting us permission to act. We believed in the strength of our goals, each other, and our Hawaii community to move forward.

What began with grassroots conversations and Zoom webinars has now garnered the formal, unanimous support of the county councils of Maui, Hawaii and Kauai, the mayor of Maui, and both Honolulu City and County mayoral candidates as well as a number of other elected officials. AAEF supporters also include a diverse range of individuals, businesses and organizations from grassroots community activists to formal large organizations such as the Hawaii Community Foundation, Kamehameha Schools, and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

One of the core values of AAEF is ‘Opu Ali‘i, a bold statement about the responsibility of leaders to their community and the reciprocal relationship of community to those who govern. This relationship is best suited when everyone adopts the same guiding principles, love and respect for the ‘aina and the people. It is the responsibility of leadership to improve the lives and livelihood of the people they serve. In turn, the community must hold leadership accountable to these values and provide the leaders with the feedback and guidance, to collaboratively create innovative solutions. This way we all win. This makes the opportunity to choose our leaders all the more important.

While the work continues, our moment for change is just beginning. We need to see the future our islands deserve achieved and manifested in every decision made from the sands of Nohili to the cliffs of Kalae. The justice, liberty, and economic prosperity we seek can be found in collaboration with those who share our values.

We have the opportunity to choose leadership that can be accountable to our values and support efforts for lasting change. We are all a part of the solution. Our time is now. We must link our efforts — on the ‘aina — in the boardrooms and classrooms — through our votes, our voices, and our collective grit.

Kamanamaikalani Beamer, Ph.D., Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, Ph.D., and Ikaika Hussey submitted this on behalf of the ʻAina Aloha Economic Futures Hui.