Connecting with others can be beneficial for our health. Besides the feel-good aspect of being around people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that high-quality relationships can help people live longer and have better health. The support we receive from healthy relationships and positive community connections helps us cope with the stressful challenges of everyday life, making us more likely to make healthy choices. Positive social connections can reduce the risk of chronic and serious illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, dementia, depression, and anxiety.
In Hawaii, Tutu’s House in Waimea and Maui Walking Tours are two community organizations that work toward improving health and well-being and offer their services free of charge. Read more about these two organizations that are making positive connections in their Neighbor Island communities.
Tutu’s House welcomes you
In the heart of Waimea, there’s a place where many gather to be closer to their community while healing and learning to make their health and well-being a priority. Tutu’s House, a Waimea nonprofit, focuses on health and wellness and is home to free community groups, gatherings, and more.
In Hawaiian, tutu means grandma, grandpa, or a beloved and trusted elder. Tutu’s House, a place where people can learn about wellness and healing, exudes the warmth of an elder loved one’s home.
“Tutu’s House is a neutral place to gather where people are not judged; they’re welcomed,” says Michelle Medeiros, resource development leader with Tutu’s House’s parent nonprofit organization, Friends of the Future. Their partnership has helped Tutu’s House continue to serve the community for more than 30 years. “They’re invited to share their own perspectives of what they view as health and wellness.”
Chair yoga class is one of the many free group class offerings at Tutu's House in Waimea.
In the early 1990s, when poor health statistics within the Big Island stirred concern for the late Kenneth F. Brown, a chair member of The Queen’s Health Systems, to call upon his friends to help. As stated on Tutu’s House’s website, Brown was interested in “exploring ways to make a difference in the direction and pace of development on the northwest corner of Hawaii.” He asked Dr. Earl Bakken, co-founder of Medtronic Inc., who had recently retired and moved to the Big Island, to take the lead in creating the initiative, which eventually became Tutu’s House.
In addition to supporting well-being, “The leaders and founders of Tutu’s House always had a sense of kuleana to their community,” says Shawn Saito, program leader of Tutu’s House. “So, answering ‘How do you help care for your community?’ was a value that was important to them. For me, being born and raised here is a big part of why I wanted to join the organization and be part of it going forward.”
Along with seeing participants learn how to take control of their own health through Tutu’s House, Medeiros has watched friendships grow. For example, an elderly man lost 60 pounds after frequenting the chair yoga class and grief support group. The friends he made at Tutu’s House inspired him to get fit enough to stand up from sitting in the sand at the beach – a task that his late wife would usually help him do.
Medeiros and Saito are proud that Tutu’s House can help each member address their needs, encourage people to make connections, embark on their holistic journeys, and feel like a part of the community.
“Participants experience a sense of belonging,” says Medeiros. “That ‘belonging’ is very much what Tutu’s House is about.”
For more information on Tutu’s House, visit their website or call 808-885-6777.
Walking through history
Keith DeVey is sharing Maui’s history, one step at a time.
Founder of Maui Walking Tours LLC, DeVey offers free guided tours in Kihei and Wailuku, giving participants a chance to gather and learn about the island’s history, all while getting exercise.
“Having grown up on Maui, I truly believe ‘Maui no ka oi’ (“Maui is the best”), so I started free walking tours to share Maui’s beauty and history with locals and visitors,” says DeVey.
He spent six months interviewing community members, historians, authors, city planners, cultural advisors, and families who have lived on Maui for generations, collecting firsthand stories before launching his first tour in March 2024. DeVey continues to read historical books and is always learning from members of the community.
“Tours are very interactive,” says DeVey. “We start with introductions so everyone can meet each other and find commonalities. We stop at 10-15 places along the way, and I share historical stories or legends. Oftentimes, participants will chime in with their own memories or stories to add to the experience.”
The Kihei tour runs every Monday and Wednesday. “We share stories of south Maui’s past in the 1800s and early 1900s as a quiet fishing village, the military presence and secret troop trainings along the south shore during World War II, and the tourism development of the 1970s,” DeVey says.
During the one-mile tour, they also stop to talk about local trees, fruit, and flowers. The tour ends with a sunset view over the ocean.
.jpg)
Maui Walking Tours attendees stroll and learn throughout Kihei and Wailuku.
The Wailuku tour occurs every other Saturday and combines history and art, discussing the town’s historical roots, dating back over a thousand years.
Both tours run around 80-90 minutes and are on relatively flat terrain. DeVey says walkers can average around 2,500 to 3,000 steps during each tour.
DeVey says many locals have done both the Kihei and Wailuku tours since they learn so much and have a lot of fun.
“We have had two or three guests that have done our tour at least three times,” says DeVey, “and they bring visiting friends or family back with them each time.”
For more information and to reserve a spot for Maui Walking Tours’ Kihei or Wailuku tour, please visit their website or contact mauiwalkingtours@gmail.com.
Photos courtesy Tutu’s House and Maui Walking Tours.
