Newsletter – May 2020
Namaste/Vanakkam:
It is already the middle of May as I pen this update. Hawaii is slowly beginning the summer weather with early morning brightness, warmer days which are also gradually getting longer. Despite all these changes, our “Stay at Home” recommendations continue through the end of the month. We should all continue to be vigilant and also thankful that we are in a State which has one of the lowest rates of infection in the community. This information should also continue to encourage us to be cautious as we are probably a vulnerable population with potentially high risk for infection because of low herd immunity. So even as we see commerce open up, please continue to exercise prudent personal safety which primarily includes good hand hygiene, physical distancing and continued use of facial protection to cover the mouth and nose especially while talking, coughing or sneezing.
I take this opportunity to belatedly wish all the Mothers and mother figures in the community well. This is indeed a great opportunity to celebrate their contribution to all of our lives. It is also an opportunity to remember the ones who are no longer with us but made a great impact on our upbringing. Later this month we will also celebrate Memorial Day Holiday. This is an opportunity for us to really connect with our ancestors and celebrate their life and memories. Many of them lived through the Flu pandemic a century ago and it is our turn to be resilient. We certainly are dealing with it with many more resources than what was available to them but we do need to make smart choices to overcome the challenges as I truly believe the way we live our lives for the coming decade is going to be significantly different.
I would like to thank members of our Ohana who stepped up to my call for monetary donations and donation of time and effort last month. We sent our monetary donation to Hawaii Food Bank at the end of last month and this month provided the Institute of Human Services with over 70 face masks. This project was led by Saguna Verma who was supported in the sewing department by Sundari Shankar, Aparna Shah and Sundari Balaraman. The raw materials for this project was generously donated by Tanuja (Mona) Verma. This group is seriously thinking of Mask Project II and any commitment to help with the same is welcome. Additionally any other volunteer suggestions and philanthropy drive recommendations can be directed towards your leadership. If you do want to channel monetary donations to the community via LOTUS, feel free to send your donations by check or through our website and we promise to use the funding judiciously to support community outreach.
The third Sunday of this month falls on May 17th, when we would normally gather at the Shiva Temple in Wahiawa for our monthly gatherings. As with the current mandates of the City and County, and State, we do not recommend for you to come to the pooja in person. Dr. Bhawuk will perform the pooja from noon to 2, and I urge you all to participate from your homes with your own prayers. If you do plan to visit the temple, please do not all congregate at once. It is my hope, per the current trend of cases in our State, that circumstances will be better next month and we can plan accordingly.
Stay safe and warm aloha,
Venkataraman Balaraman
President
