Native-led organizations tend to address some social, cultural economic, health, education, or other issues that affect Native Americans in various ways. An example of a native-led organization is the Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi (HMONO), a nonprofit organization that helps improve the health and wellbeing of natives of Hawaii. Founded in 1991, the organization’s mission is to ensure that all natives of Hawaii live longer and feel better. This organization’s offices are in Kīlauea Avenue, Hilo, Hawaii County in the state of Hawaii (HMONO 3). Since its incorporation, thirty years ago, the organization has been serving as the native Hawaiian healthcare system for the island. Specifically, it provides behavioral health, medical, and community education services. The objective is to improve access to quality healthcare, services, and education for the people of Hawaii County in the Island.
The organization is available online using its website as well as on the social media. Specifically, the organization has a Facebook account called “Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi” whose identity is @HMONO.org and Instagram handle identified as “hui_malama”. With the social media handles and the website, the organization states that it is open and the public can provide donations or voluntary work. On its website the organization indicates that it was founded by members of the native Hawaiians in response to the increase in the highlighted health issues. The organization operates a website that is used to reach out to potential donors. Moreover, the website is supported by US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The HRSA provides money to the organization to support its programs and services (HMONO 3). In addition, the HMONO acquires additional funds from non-government sources, especially in form of donations. In this way, the organization has been able to help the natives improve their health and wellbeing.
HMONO was founded based on the findings that the prevalence of several diseases and illnesses was high in the region compared to other parts of the country. Specifically, the prevalence rates of such diseases and conditions as cancer, diabetes, cardiac problems, hypertension, overweightness, and obesity were higher compared to the national average (HMONO 3). In addition, the region had a low rate of immunization as well as a high rate of malnutrition among the children and young people. Therefore, the organization was founded for the purpose of involving the community to address most of these problems. It is worth noting that these issues affect human health directly or indirectly, which in turn results in poor wellbeing and diseases and a short lifespan for individual members of a society.
Noteworthy, reports from various sources, including research and official reports, support the view that the natives in Hawaii have higher rates of certain diseases than non-natives. Native Hawaiians have higher rates of diabetes, obesity, cardiac problems, and some forms of cancer (HMONO 3). Reports also indicate that these people have lower educational attainment levels than non-natives. This problem is associated with higher prevalence and mortality rates of a number of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. In addition, official reports and research findings indicate that more adult native Hawaiians than non-native adults tend to smoke. It is important to remember that smoking is associated with a number of diseases such as hypertension and cancer.
In the process of achieving its objectives, HMONO has included various programs under its services, which helps attract more natives in the county to join. For example, it includes special transportation, traditional festivals, ladies night out, and traditional healing approaches (HMONO 2). The idea is to ensure that the services that the organization provides are synchronized with the values of the society and have direct impacts on individual natives. Moreover, all these services make it possible to improve access to quality healthcare, education, and other related services for the native people living in the county.
With an increasing rate of non-communicable diseases as well as an aging population in the country, the most vulnerable people are likely to bear the largest burden. Native Hawaiians are in the category of the most vulnerable groups in the country, implying that they are likely to bear a large burden of non-communicable diseases and health conditions (HMONO 2). Consequently, HMONO has been calling for change in behaviors among this group to ensure that they improve their health and wellbeing. In addition, it is calling for members of the public to get involved by donating or volunteering, which will help it achieve its objectives. The organization strives to help people view their health as an important aspect of individual and community lives (HMONO 4). Behaviors like smoking, intake of alcohol, and sedentary lifestyle are some of the aspects that the organization seeks to change.
Apart from the government, the organization seeks support from well-wishers across the country. On its website, HMONO calls for donors to provide monetary support to help it achieve its objectives. Therefore, any individuals from outside the community and organizations are free to provide donations to the organization through its website. In addition, the public can volunteer to work with the organization as it seeks to involve individuals and families in Hawaii to improve their health and wellbeing. People can visit the website, register, provide details, and submit their monetary donations.
The Durkheim theory of mechanical solidarity states that the forces that make members of a given society to cooperate are the same as the internal energies that cause molecules of a substance to cohere. According to this theory, mechanical solidarity is the social integration of individual members of a given society with common beliefs and values (Kastoryano 8). Together, the common beliefs and values in the community constitute a collective conscience, which operates internally in each member to make them cooperate.
The instrumental action model states that people in a group plan and take certain actions after evaluating the goal in relation to other objectives and thorough consideration of various means. These two models connect to the process of donating to HMONO as a way of helping it achieve its goals (Althammer, Neumärker, and Nothelle-Wildfeuer 47). In this case, after analyzing the health situation in Hawaii, the founders of the organizations realized that they needed to take action to reduce the disease burden. They considered various actions and means such as educating the people or confronting the authorities but realized the best way is to pull resources together and work with the community members.
Collaborations or coalitions between the natives and non-natives can help people pull resources together and improve their lives and wellbeing. In her “Coalitions between Natives and Non-Natives”, Haunani-Kay Trask supports this view, stating that natives should have quality lives just like other groups (Trask 11). The author notes that the resources available in Hawaii, initially owned by the natives before the arrival of settlers and other groups, should help the Hawaiians to enjoy equal and quality lives. She states that both natives and non-natives have a common goal of leading enjoyable and worth lives because they are now equal partners in their societies. The work of HOMONO relates to this view because it calls people from different social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds to pull their resources together through donations and help the natives achieve better lives and health.
From a personal perspective, this organization is doing an important work for the people in Hawaii and the country in general. In any society, the goal of the people is to lead quality lives free from diseases, violence, and other negative forces. In this case, HMONO is fighting disease that affects the wellbeing of members of the First Nation in Hawaii (HMONO 3). Noteworthy, these people are part of the American society and the problems that they face also affect other people in some way. Indeed, the federal government and other players spend tax money to fight the health issues in Hawaii, which means that everyone in the country is affected. Moreover, allowing the natives to die early due to diseases that are controllable and manageable is a shame to the entire country.
It is unfortunate that the natives bear a large burden of diseases primarily because they have low levels of education, high levels of poverty, and poor access to healthcare. These facts show that the society has a high level of inequality, which discriminates the minority groups (HMONO 4). It is important to think about Trask’s view of the Hawaiian society. As Trasks states, it is clear that the natives are the original owners of the state, yet they are now the minority and among the most discriminated groups in the country. Natives are part of the American society and the problems that they face also affect other people in different ways. Indeed, the federal government and other players spend tax money to fight the health issues in Hawaii, which means that everyone in the country is affected.
Works Cited
Althammer, Jörg, Bernhard Neumärker, and Ursula Nothelle-Wildfeuer. Solidarity in Open Societies. Springer VS, 2019.
HMONO. About Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi. Web.
Kastoryano, Riva. “Multiculturalism and Interculturalism: Redefining Nationhood and Solidarity.” Comparative Migration Studies 6.1, 2018: 1-11.
Trask, Haunani-Kay. Coalition-Building Between Natives and Non-Natives. University of Hawaii Press, 2021.