Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 6, 1 June 2011 — Afterschool program expands reach in Waimānalo [ARTICLE]

Afterschool program expands reach in Waimānalo

By Harold Nedd History will remember Hui Mālama O Ke Kai as an afterschool program that allows young people in Waimānalo to develop new skills and interact positively with peers. But the nonprofit organization is fashioning itself into an important ally for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, too. In fact, Hui Mālama has built an enviable reputation for developing community pride and nurturing the leadership potential of youth in Waimānalo "through the teaching of Native Hawaiian culture and values," said Kathy Morris, Executive Director of the program created in 1998. Since then, it has relished its role as a safe, structured program for fifth and sixth graders who are left alone and unsupervised onee the afternoon school bell rings. With increasingly more young people growing up in homes with two working parents or a single working parent, the afterschool program has expanded its services to sev-

enth and eighth graders as well as all high school students in Waimānalo. The expansion is being partly funded with a one-year $200,000 grant from OHA, whieh covers about one-third of the program's annual operating cost. Several other organizations also help fund the program, whose activities include swinuning, hiking, fishing and learning the Hawaiian language. At the same time, the program reflects two high-priority initiatives at OHA: valuing Hawaiian culture and reducing heahh risks caused by a laek of physical activity as well as unhealthy eating habits. Of the 75 students who participate in the Hui Mālama program, 90 percent - or about 67 students - are Native Hawaiian, Morris said. "We've become a youth development program that provides young people with tools to think critically and make healthy choices," Morris said. "OHA's grant allows us to continue strengthening and expanding our services to fifth graders through 12th graders and their families." ■ For a grantee profile on recipient Hawaiian Community Assets, see page 27.