Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 2, 1 Pepeluali 2021 — Teaching Keiki, Strengthening 'Ohana, Connecting a Community [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Teaching Keiki, Strengthening 'Ohana, Connecting a Community

ByCherylCheeTsutsumi Hui Mālama O Ke Kai Foundation (HMKF) is a small organization that's doing great things to kōkua Waimānalo, the ahupua'a it serves. Waimānalo residents Nani Akeo and Sharon Majit-Gorion started HMKF in 1998 as a grassroots initiative to provide the community with free culture-based afterschool and family-strengthening programs. It was incorporated in 2002 and heeame a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization two years later. Its mission is straightforward: to cultivate wellness, leadership, environmental stew-

ardship and cultural pride and identity through the Hawaiian values of aloha (to acknowledge that whieh is greater than ourselves); pono (to pursue excellence and cultivate justice); 'onipa'a (to be steadfast, determined and firmly rooted); and mālama (to care for, honor and protect). "It's not a stagnant thing, it's not enrichment, it's foundational," said Mailelauli'i Vickery, HMKF's executive director. "We encourage participants to live those words - to put them into action every day." During the Keiki After School Youth Development Program for fifth and sixth graders and the 'ōpio After School Leadership Program for seventh through 12th graders, kids enjoy healthy snacks, receive academic support, and learn about themselves and Hawaiian culture and history through oeean- and land-based activities. These include snorkeling, eanoe paddling and caring for lo'i kalo and loko i'a in partnership with four schools and more than a dozen cultural organizations in Windward O'ahu. Instructors share mo'olelo about places the students visit, and traditional protocols are followed, including oli to ask permission to enter. A primary focus is kilo, close observation, so keiki ean forge a strong relationship or pilina with the world around them. "For example, they study the waves, winds, currents and other conditions before they go into the oeean," Vickery said. "By doing that, they recognize when it is safe to be in the water and when it is not." Kilo is also key for 'āina activities. Before going into a lo'i kalo, the children learn the story of Hāloa, the taro plant,

whom Native Hawaiians consider their elder brother. They learn how to conduct themselves appropriately in the preparation, planting, growing, harvesting, cleaning and cooking of kalo. "It's a reciprocal relationship; when we mālama kalo, it will mālama us," Vickery said. "'Āina is literally that whieh feeds us. We incorporate mo'olelo, 'ōlelo and 'ōlelo no'eau, so the keiki know the Hawaiian words and stories for where they are and what they are doing." Although the framework for the two after-school programs is identical, the Keiki curriculum serves as an introduction while 'ōpio activities build on that foundation and train young adults to be leaders. "They're expected to be role models," Vickery said. "As with the Hāloa mo'olelo, the kuleana of the older siblings is to mālama the younger ones." SEE CONNEGTING A COMMUNITY ON PAGE 11

C0NNECTING A COMMUNITY

Continued from page 10 Their third pillar is the 'Ohana and Kaiāulu Program, whieh is designed to strengthen the families of after-school program participants and the community at large. OHA awarded HMKF a two-year grant to support the annual 10- to 12-week Papahana Kālai Papa Me Pōhaku Ku 'i ' Ai workshop, where attendees are taught how to make a wooden poi board and stone poi pounder by hand, without the use of power tools. HMKF is also using the OHA grant to host threehour Pō Ku'i Kalo poi-pounding classes, whieh prior to the pandemic, were held eight times a year. "When COVID hit in March, we were in the midst of doing both workshops," Vickery said. "Since all large in-person gatherings had to be cancelled, we continued instruction for Papahana Kālai Papa Me Pōhaku Ku'i 'Ai via Zoom meetings, YouTube videos, emails, phone calls and materials we created on virtual platforms and with new technology." For 10 weeks in April, May and June, Ku'i Kalo was a weekly "drive-through" event. Families went to HMKF's facility in Waimānalo on Friday to piek up kalo and, if needed, papa and pōhaku ku'i 'ai, so they could pound poi at home. They returned borrowed implements on Monday. "It was wildly successful," Vickery said. "We distributed 300 pounds of kalo per week to 100 families. We're waiting for our lo'i partners to say they have enough kalo, so we ean offer another 10-week drive-through program. The need and interest in our services hasn't changed. We just have to be creative about the delivery." The pandemic also affected their Keiki and 'ōpio programs. When in-person activities were halted in March, the staff provided homework assistance via Zoom, posted news on social media platforms, dropped off activity packets at students' homes, and made weekly phone calls to their families. When the programs ended as usual in May, in lieu of an inperson celebration, there was an on-the-road hō'ike where makana, lau confetti and mea 'ai were dropped off at participants' homes. After-school programs resumed in November, with in-person activities limited to four children supervised by one staff member (adjustments will be made to follow state and federal guidelines and recommendations of the CDC). "Yes, we are in challenging times, but we plan to continue our efforts to strengthen connections between keiki and their 'ohana and the Waimānalo community," Vickery said. "Our hope is to serve as many people that we ean, to improve what we're doing and keep evolving. We envision our ll-acre facility being a hub. Ho'oulu ka lāhui is what it's all about." ■ Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi has written 12 books and countless newspaper, magazine and website articles about Hawai'i' s history, culture, food and lifestyle.

Lifeguard Aka Tamashiro teaches Keiki and 'Ōpio program participants how to assess oeean conditions before they go surfing at Kaupō, Waimōnalo. - Photos: Courtesy of Hui Mōlomo 0 Ke Kai

Mo'olelo eome to life for Keiki and 'Ōpio participants when they visit places such as Kealaklpapa, Waimōnalo, shown here.