Kokua Aku, Kokua Mai
by a clinician
I work at a community health center in Hawaii. The name is Kokua Kalihi Valley. Thirty years ago, when I began work there, I wanted to know the meaning of 'Kokua' and was told that it meant help, like 'charity.'
It was not until years later that I learned the deeper meaning of the word. The etymology is Ko'o: to support and Kua: one’s physical back. So what you carry on your back, or your sense of responsibility.
There is a Hawaiian saying: "Kokua Aku, Kokua Mai" meaning, "Help others, be helped". Reciprocity.
Kokua should always be understood flowing in both directions. This is really something quite different than charity. Of course, time spent getting to know my patients and for them to get to know me, hearing what mattered to them, learning of their gifts as well as their predicaments, learning to care about them as well as for them, had already taught me this.
