Aloha from Kulia!

Kulia Na Mamo (Kulia) is a social service provider established in 2001 to improve the quality of life of mahuwahine and other transgendered people living in the Hawaiian Islands, with an emphasis on disadvantaged people of color, through providing services in the areas of health, education, culture, and other assistance.

Kulia’s great strength is its peer based orientation. Staff and Board of Directors both include members of the populations being served with knowledge and experience in how to offer appropriate assistance to clients.

Like their sisters throughout the world, Hawaii’s transgendered people often live lives that include prostitution, drug and alcohol abuse, discrimination and harassment, poor health and early mortality, poverty and homelessness, low self esteem, and a lack of access to mainstream health and social service resources.

Mahuwahine (male to female transgendered people), mahu and aikane (same sex relationships) were accepted in traditional Hawaiian culture as those filling similar roles often were in indigenous non-westernized people elsewhere. Much in Hawaiian legend and folklore point to the accepted role of these person within pre-contact Hawaii. This tradition of acceptance may in part explain the high percentage of persons of native Hawaiian ancestry in Hawaii’s current transgendered population.

If you wish to make a donation to Kulia Na Mamo please click the "Make A Donation" button below