Friday, January 22, 2021

KOKUA: The Spirit of Kindness #AlohaFriday



Double Orange Hibiscus

Any time you ride TheBus in Honolulu, you'll hear the announcement: "Please kokua, continue to move to the rear of the bus so others can board." We don't have a Hotline in Hawaii, it's a Kokua line for help, assistance, and support. Kokua is a Hawaiian word meaning the spirit of kindness, a desire to help others without expectation of anything in return.

When I worked as a Security Dispatcher for the state's largest shopping mall, much of my day was spent taking phone calls from people requesting help. If a store lost their electricity, I would ask Maintenance to help restore their power. When someone's child disappeared - always into a toy store! - I dispatched a Security Officer to kokua, help find the child.  Shoplifter? Request HPD (no, the Honolulu Police Department isn't officially called Hawaii 5-0).

While I enjoyed that particular job for 12 years, I also spent my spare time writing, with a goal of one day publishing novels. Now I have much more time to write, and have less opportunity to help others. But I'll always remember the satisfaction of offering kokua whenever possible, and the urge to help others will always remain with me.


11 comments:

  1. Fab post. can't believe the police aren't called five-O. Fooled by TV again!
    regards
    mood

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  2. A new word and a good one! :) I try to extend kokua everyday to someone :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  3. Love these posts! Kudos.

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  4. If I'm ever in a pinch, I'll know exactly who to turn to.

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  5. I hadn't heard of that before, interesting.

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  6. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I know nothing about Hawaii but don't worry, I won't expect to learn all from shows like Hawaii 5-0. Maybe Man v Food is better. ;-)

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  7. I'm going to try to remember the word and offer kokua whenever I have the opportunity. Beautiful post!

    I’m A-Z Blogging on Langley Writes about Writing and Langley’s Rich and Random Life

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  8. Kokua - I like it. :) Thanks for a lovely new word!

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  9. I learned something new. You might be interested in checking out my blog since many of the posts are about Hawaii. You'll find out why when you visit me there.

    Sharon
    http://grandmaisawriter.blogspot.com

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