From Jessamy Town Hornor, Founder

Ocean Safety ʻOhana is a healing venture. I founded the organization after the loss of my husband Mark and my youngest daughter Mina in an ocean accident at the Makapuʻu Tidepools in July of 2016. In representing the unique perspective of those who have lost loved ones to the ocean, Ocean Safety ʻOhana ultimately seeks to prevent other losses while nurturing a deeper relationship with our ocean and beaches. As a local, community-based non-profit we honor the cultural, generational and place-based ocean knowledge that is one of Hawaii’s greatest living legacies.

The work we endeavor as Ocean Safety ʻOhana embraces both definitions provided by Pukui:

ʻohana

nvs. Family, relative, kin group; related. ʻOhana holoʻokoʻa, ʻohana nui, extended family, clan.

vi. To gather for family prayers (short for pule ʻohana).

A Little Of Our Story

About Our Logo

The two flowers featured in our logo are in memory of Mark and Mina. On my visit to the Makapuʻu Tidepools on the first-year anniversary of the accident, I saw tiny white and purple flowers on a vine that hugged the steep, rocky trail. Mina loved very small, cute things, and the image stayed with me. I asked around and learned that the name of the plant is Paʻu O Hiʻiaka and that its name has a special moʻolelo:  When Pele went out surfing one day, she left her little sister Hiʻiaka sleeping on the beach, and the vines grew up and around her as a gentle blanket to protect her from the sun. Paʻu means the wrap or skirt of Hiʻiaka. This tender moʻolelo was such a gift for me to hear and hold in my heart. This spirit of protection is one that I carry forward in my work with Ocean Safety ‘Ohana.

Logo by Naiʻa Lewis at Salted Logic