The Hawaii Catholic Herald recently received a note from Maryknoll Sister Kathleen Skenyon about former Hawaii Sister Bitrina Kirway who served on a five-member United Nations panel, May 5, at UN headquarters in New York. Their presentation, “Climate Change: Its impact on Agriculture, Land, Drought and Africa,” was co-sponsored by the Maryknoll Sisters.

Sister Bitrina came to Hawaii in 1988 and served in Nanakuli and Waipahu for 18 years. In January, she was chosen to be a member of the Maryknoll Sisters central governing board in New York.

With Sister Kathleen’s note was a Maryknoll Sisters bulletin describing the event. Excerpts:

“When it was her turn to speak, Sister Bitrina moved closer to the microphone. She took a deep breath and began chanting. Panelists leaned over each other to get a better look at her. Pens paused over notebooks. Faces softened. Her chanting brought us directly to her and her message. Her voice got stronger with each phrase:

“‘Ua mau ke ea o ka aina ika pono.’

“‘The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.’ …

“Sister Bitrina spoke how ‘land is my life, is my culture, land is my sibling, and land is sacred. We take care of land, and land takes care of us.’

“Born in Arusha, Tanzania, Sister Bitrina shared experiences of riverbeds gone dry, drought affecting crops, walking miles for water, and noticing the absence of birdsong. ‘As a native people, it is not only our right but our duty as well to continue what our ancestors have set forth for us.’

“‘We need to understand our past culture, and we need to recognize our living culture. We must return to the basics in order to remedy the situation. This must be a national responsibility but it also requires international cooperation. We are all connected.’”