Generosity, Gratitude, and Lychee
In a community struggling with poverty – in which many people simply will not have enough money – the greatest wealth we can help people uncover is their self-value. Knowing that one’s life is valuable …
Tag: Poverty
A Willingness to Help
Neighborhood Place of Puna tries not to turn anyone away. We primarily help families with underage children as well as pregnant and parenting teens. We run an emergency food pantry to help the hungry in …
The Poverty Trap
As Americans, we are torn between two disparate images of poverty. One is the romantic poverty of Thoreau and Saint Francis, the holy poverty of simple lives. The other is vilified poverty, the poverty of …
Making a Difference
In a rural community like Puna, physical isolation can be a hurdle to success and barrier to accessing even the most basic of resources. Housing is relatively cheap, but transportation is not. This forces individuals …
The Insecurity of Poverty
Poverty is characterized by insecurity, instability, and stress. When a family does not have enough money to meet even the basic needs of housing, food, transportation, and medicine, they will, by necessity, go without at …
Supporting East Hawaii Families
2014 has been a hard year for Puna families. In addition to the usual challenges of poverty, isolation, and transportation, Hurricane Iselle came ashore over Puna early in the morning of August 9th, felling trees, …
Practicing Hospitality
Hospitality, the willingness to offer shelter and food to strangers, is an ancient practice. It is a virtue praised in many religious traditions and an ethic that Neighborhood Place of Puna tries to embody. This …
Helping Pregnant and Parenting Teens
Neighborhood Place of Puna is now providing intensive, ongoing, in-home, services to pregnant and parenting teens thanks to a grant from the Hawaii Children’s Trust Fund. NPP will help these teens connect to essential services, …
How Can I Help?
Yesterday I heard the heart breaking story of elementary school children filling their pockets with food from lunch at school on Fridays. This is at a school where over 90% of the children qualify for …