Ernest Caravalho sent a message to Ajaypal Singh Banga that said:
Aloha Mr. Ajay Banga,
My name is Ernest Caravalho and I am writing to you on behalf of our children of Hawaii. As for transparency I would like to add that I am a candidate for Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu. I am not writing as a candidate but as a citizen of Hawaii. I read that you came to Hawaii for an event honoring local companies named to the list of Hawaii Business Magazine top 250 businesses for 2019. I want to thank you for coming to our islands and hope that you were able to enjoy the hospitality of our people.
As I read the article is saw that you have pointed out the fact that our States economy is based on Tourism and the Military. Something I strongly believe that our state needs to move away from. We must wean ourselves off of tourism and the military to a more diversified economic base and I agree with what you said. We must embrace the technology sector and begin to move in that direction.
We just donât want to move in that direction but we need to build a workforce of local people who will be able to work in these fields. To do that we must have the proper tools to educate our children. This is where we could use your help. We have a non-profit called Hawaiian Hope which gives out computers every year to our children and veterans, and on top of that they train them. This organization is making a small impact but could do even more with the right help from someone like you. What is truly needed at this time is a warehouse that could not only house the computers but also have an area to properly train the people.
Last year Hawaiian Hope disturbed 1000 computers. This year they are headed to 1500 and believe that they can go up to over 3000 a year. What they truly need is the proper facility to help more people and give them the right training.
I know this is a lot but I do believe that this is the step we need and guidance that we can use from someone like you.
Honolulu is the most isolated city in the world but we should never use that as a hindrance to build up on diversifying our economic base. We should embrace that and take advantage of our location. Honolulu can become the shinning pearl in the pacific and embrace a new and vibrant status as the technology center of the world right in between the giants of America and Asia. Itâs a role we can live up too with the right and proper help.
In conclusion I am hoping that you and your corporation of MasterCard could help to make this possible, something I truly believe that you also would like to see happen in Hawaii. Our people are graciously asking for help and it is because of individuals and corporations like you that we are able to move Hawaii in the right direction. One that will be able to sustain our people in their own homeland.
Mahalo for your time,
Ernest Caravalho
