Meaning of Mālama

​We may hear the word almost everyday...mālama. Do we really know what it means?
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Mālama pono (be careful)
Mālama ia Hawai‘i (take care of Hawai‘i)

​Referencing an action, a person, a way of life... mālama relates to our environment, culture, and everything with which we interact. It is something we all should do more of everyday.

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Mālama - to take care of, tend, attend, care for, preserve, protect

Mālamalama - (reduplication of mālama); light of knowledge, clarity of thinking or explanation, enlightenment

Hawaiian Dictionary by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert (1986)

Our inspiration for the Mālama Learning Center comes from many sources. Perhaps the greatest source is the understanding that we need to leave Hawai‘i as a place that is worthy of future generations to live in and enjoy. Indeed, this is not a unique thought, but it is one that has become increasingly difficult to manifest. In joining with others, the Mālama Learning Center can be a living laboratory of understanding how to better care for ourselves and our island home.