Indigenous Vision’s Faye Poley and Melissa Spence were invited to attend the ‘Mana Wahine Ekolu 2022’ conference on Oahu, Hawai’i this November. Mana Wahine Ekolu translates to ‘Female Empowerment Three’ and the conference is held in Kapolei, Oahu at the Aulani Resort. This truly amazing opportunity to come together with new friends was made possible by the Grantmakers for Girls of Color team, particularly Rana, and was hosted by the Pu’a Foundation.
As soon as the IV team landed in Honolulu, they were greeted by the members of the Pu’a Foundation and enjoyed a home cooked feast with their team. Thank you Roberta Jahrling, Mikie Mederios, Debbie Victor, Kimmy Takata, and Toni Bissen for the outstanding hospitality throughout the entire conference.
Once the conference was in full swing the IV team met up with fellow G4GC cohort attendee, Jacqueline B. Husary who is a part of the Palestinian Feminist Collective. They took in several of the incredible and powerful workshops the Pu’a Foundation lovingly put together over the three day conference.
There were over 100 attendees this year and each workshop was curated around the Pu’a Foundations dedicated work towards turning trauma into transformation. With speakers like Kekuhi Kealiikanakaoleohaililani and former Govenor Linda Lingle, the workshops and dialogue were powerful, impactful, and at times vulnerable. The IV team spent their time learning new ways to overcome adversity through a special keynote session with Dr. Caroline Sakai.
With post-traumatic growth, embracing cultural practices, and protocol on top of mind throughout the conference it was truly a transformative experience. Meeting other attendees during the various workshops and downtime was good medicine! Whether it was an emotional and loving space created by the Peer Support group, or the wild chance to try Hawaiian Chili eye drops, the Mana Wahine conference is an engaging and wonderful way to experience the presence of each other and share our unique gifts and stories.
It was an honor to have IV attend the Mana Wahine Ekolu conference; not only was our presence known, Mauna Loa erupted at the same time and it was an incredibly good and strong energy to be around. Thank you to everyone who made this conference like no other. We look forward to meeting again!
Check out our podcast on the Mana Wahine experience!
