Much Aloha to the men in the Aotearoa Village!

Submitted by: P. Alfred Grace, President & CEO

Aloha,

I wanted to bring to your attention something that occurred during our visit to PCC on Thursday, June 17, 2021. We brought our Ohana to visit since his wife has never been to Oahu and visiting PCC was one of the things she was looking forward to. Just before the 4:30 pm show in Aotearoa, I sat in my mobility scooter and was approached by Tama who started a conversation with me.

I’m not sure what compelled me to share the kind of day I was having with Tama, but I did. I received a call that morning that due to COVID, the company I’ve been working for for almost 10 years will be closing and I was devastated. I tried my best to keep my spirits up considering we were with family but it was difficult.

I just had spinal surgery in April and lost my mother so we celebrated her birthday on June 12th, so all of these emotions overwhelmed me that day. But anyways fast forward, to the show just before they finished with the Haka, I thought that hopefully one day, I’d earn that respect and have a Haka done for my husband and I.

Well unbeknownst to us, Tama made it possible and dedicated the Haka they did, to my husband and I. It filled my heart and I broke down because of the kind and beautiful gesture these men, especially Tama did for me. I wanted to bring this to your attention and this is the only way I could show our Aloha.

I wanted to give our Aloha to all of them and just wish I knew their names. My husband and I wanted to bring them something as a thank you but no clue how to go about that. “HA the BREATH of LIFE” didn’t disappoint and it was amazing especially to see Jeri perform and to meet Aunty Delsa.

My husband is very close to the Nihipali’s, Kaio’s, Marasco’s, etc and we are very close to Aunty Kela Miller so being there at PCC to show our Ohana around was incredible and the men in Aotearoa truly made it incredibly special and memorable for me. So I wanted to thank Tama and the rest of the group for showing your love to my husband and I. I wish there was a way to truly thank them but I’ll start here at least.

Mahalo Nui Loa,

Brandon (aka Bro) and Zenelle (aka “Z)

 

Proper Lifting

Despite all of the equipment, tools, and machinery that are used in manufacturing, manual labor is still needed to get most work done. What this means is that every worker is exposed to potential injuries to their back by simply doing the normal everyday tasks they often don’t think about. Tasks that can cause or aggravate an existing back injury include:

• Shoveling, twisting, or awkward body positions
• Bending, stooping, or squatting
• Kneeling for long periods of time
• Placing materials overhead
• Lifting materials from the floor
• Pushing heavy materials

 

• Cut down on carrying materials whenever possible by having them delivered close to where they will be used.
• When you must lift or carry materials: 1) Keep the load as close to your body as you can. 2) Try not to twist, turn your whole body instead. 3) Lift with your legs, not your back. 4) Lift the load using a solid two-handed grip. 5) Lift and lower materials in a smooth steady way, try not to jerk the lift.