🌺 The Kupuna of the Big Island Are Suffering in Silence — Does Anyone Care?

On the Big Island, we love to say we honor our elders. We say “respect your kupuna,” we post inspirational photos, we celebrate them at events… but when you walk the neighborhoods quietly, when you look past the social media posts and the speeches, you start to see another truth:

Many of our kupuna are suffering in silence.
And most of the island doesn’t even notice.

These are elders who worked hard their entire lives.
Elders who built this island with their hands.
Elders who raised families, volunteered, farmed, taught, cleaned, cooked, protected, and sacrificed.
Elders who gave the best years of their lives to Hawaiʻi.

But today?

Too many are sitting alone in small homes they can barely maintain.
Too many are choosing between medication and groceries.
Too many are scared every time property taxes rise.
Too many are driving on unsafe roads because they have no other choice.
Too many don’t speak up because they don’t want to “be a burden.”

And the hardest truth?

Most of them will never ask for help — even when they truly need it.

In local culture, kupuna stay humble.
They stay quiet.
They carry their pain in silence.
They tell everyone they’re “fine,” even when they are not.

But the signs are there if you look closely.

A worn-out car sitting in a driveway because they can’t afford repairs.
A fridge with only a few items inside.
A small roof leak that never got fixed.
A yard slowly growing wild.
A quiet sadness in the eyes of someone who used to laugh easily.

We live in a state that spends $20 billion a year, and a county that spends nearly $1 billion on the Big Island alone. With this level of money flowing through government budgets, no kupuna should be struggling. Not one.
We should have the strongest kupuna support system in the entire Pacific.

And yet… here we are.

Kupuna who built this place are often living with:

• Rising medical costs

• High rents or property taxes

• Isolation and loneliness

• Lack of transportation

• Slow access to services

• Homes in need of repairs they cannot afford

Many of them won’t tell anyone.
That’s why we, as a community, have to notice.

The truth is simple:
An island can be measured by how it treats its elders.

If our kupuna feel abandoned, then something is broken in the soul of this island.

But it doesn’t have to stay this way.

We can check on our elderly neighbors.
We can help with groceries or yardwork.
We can push the county for better elder services.
We can speak up when something feels wrong.
We can make sure no kupuna suffers alone on an island built by their hands.

This is the Big Island.
This is a place of aloha.
And aloha without action is just a word.

Tonight, let’s open our eyes.
Let’s open our hearts.
Let’s take care of the people who took care of us.

Because the kupuna of the Big Island deserve more than survival —
they deserve dignity, comfort, and love. 🌺🤙


Disclaimer ::: This post reflects personal observations and community concerns regarding the well-being of kupuna on the Big Island. It is not directed at any specific individual, agency, or organization. The purpose of this article is to encourage awareness, compassion, and constructive dialogue. Readers are encouraged to seek additional information, verify facts independently, and support efforts that promote the dignity and well-being of our elders.