Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 3, 1 March 2011 — OSHIRO LAUDED FOR DEDICATION TO HEALING [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OSHIRO LAUDED FOR DEDICATION TO HEALING

For 82-year-oldMasam Oshiro, helping others comes naturally. It's something he leamed growing up on a Waipahu plantation, where people in the small community depended on eaeh other to get things done. "They all help out eaeh other, that was the thing to do," says Oshiro, who channeled that mindset into a career in social work at places ' like Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center and Alu Like Ine. For his contributions, the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i named Oshiro a 201 1 Living Treasure of Hawai'i. In 1963 Myron Thompson brought Oshiro to QLCC to help him expand the O'ahu program statewide. After Thompson left QLCC, Oshiro, as Executive Director, continued to support Thompson's efforts to produce and publish Mary Kawena Pukui's Nānā i ke Kuniu - Look to the Source, a seminal work whieh identified Native Hawaiian healing practices such as ho'oponopono. Oshiro, a retired State Department of Heahh Deputy Director, has also provided grief eoun-

seling for the American Red Cross in New York after the Sept. 1 1 attacks and other disasters. As President and CEO of Alu Like, he worked alongside Haunani Apoliona, who later rose to lead that agency and is now an OHA Trustee. Accepting his award at a Feb. 5 luneheon at Sheraton Waikīkī, Oshiro said he was surprised but grateful for the honor. "My receiving this honor shows the recognition of the important work these people (social workers and disaster responders) do behind the scenes, in the trenches," he said, sharing the recognition with those who share his calling. — LisaAsato

Masaru Oshiro is among a growing group of individuals with 1ies to Oueen Lili'uokalani Children's Center to be named a Living Treasure of Hawai'i. - Photo: LisaAsato