THE KAHEA
Since 2007, The Calling has created and documented a diverse array of transformational learning experiences for youth. We have organized youth to be a part of powerful global efforts such as The Gandhi/King Peace Train, where we journeyed from Los Angeles to San Jose, CA and met with elders, visionaries and peacemakers including Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, Dolores Huerta, Mayan spiritual leader Juana Vasquez de Arcon and the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., the late Yolanda King. In 2008 we participated on the Longest Walk 2, a Native American led walk for the environment and indigenous rights that began in Davis, CA and ended in Washington DC. We also provided a land-based cultural educational experience, we traveled to the Navajo (Dineh) reservation with a group of youth, including Imani Altemus-Williams, daughter of Barbara Altemus and Ana Huerta, granddaughter of Dolores Huerta. The youth learned first hand about the environmental devastation created at Church Rock from a radioactive spill that was never cleaned up; they participated in a traditional Inipi (sweat lodge) ceremony and learned from pioneer in Integrative Medicine, Dr. Larry Dossey and luminary Barbara Marx Hubbard. The Peace Train, The Longest Walk 2 and journey to New Mexico are just a few of the experiences that we’ve facilitated with and for our youth since 2007.
While we have a global focus on creating change, Hawai’i has been an inspiring home to The Calling. We are blessed to be at such an epicenter where ancient science and cultural wisdom is thriving. We recognize Hawai’i’s potential to be a model for sustainability throughout the world. Over the past few years The Calling has generated much support from the Hawaiian Community, including elders such as Kumu Hula Frank Hewett, Dr. VerlieAnn Malina-Wright, Peter Hano Hano and more. We are blessed to have Herb Lee Jr., Executive Director of Pacific American Foundation as a leader on our team. He has been instrumental in the development of our vision.
In 2012, THE CALLING partnered with the Pacific American Foundation (PAF), a non-profit 501c3 Fiscal Sponsor, to establish firm roots in Hawaii, engaging with community and leaders from Hawaii as a way to bring this wisdom to a global stage. Founded in 1994, PAF’s mission is to improve the lives of all Pacific Islanders.
With Hawai’i as the focal point of our work, we have facilitated exchanges between the local and global communities where people are able to discover their connection to the rest of the world. The Calling has organized and hosted visitors to Hawaii including Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Rigoberta Menchu Tum and world-renowned leaders such as Dick Gregory, Chief Arvol Looking Horse and Arun Gandhi. The purpose of each visit has been to provide opportunities for youth and the greater community to engage with and learn from these elders and visionaries.

HISTORY
“The inspiration for The Calling: Heal Ourselves, Heal Our Planet Documentary Film Series is inspired by the teachings of Native American elders who spoke to myself and other youth more than 33 years ago of the need to ‘shift our consciousness’ (mind-set) to one of caring for, not destroying one another and Mother Earth. They shared of the 7th Generation Prophesy that we are in today that says if we continue to live from greed and destroy the resources that nourish and sustain us, our children will not have a future. It is my hope that our youth will grow to love and feel connected to the `āina,(land) water and all living beings and in so doing become inspired to grow into the new visionaries of our time who are capable of healing ourselves and our planet.”
-Barbara Altemus, Visionary & Creative Director of The Calling