Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 3, 1 March 2022 — Mom Power: Building Stronger Keiki and Mākuahine Bonds [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mom Power: Building Stronger Keiki and Mākuahine Bonds

/ E 'ONIPA'A KAKOU V ^ BE STEADFAST "

By Staci Hanashiro "I ulu no ka lālā i ke kumu; The branches grow because of the trunk." Without our ancestors, we woulel not be here. - 'Ōlelo No'eau #1261 Lili'uokalani Trust's (LT) vision is "nā kamalei lupalupa" (thriving Hawaiian children). For generations our ancestors built the foundation and demonstrated how to help our kamali'i thrive through Hawaiian practices. For many, this was interrupted by cultural historical trauma. One way to transform our vision into reality is by focusing on early childhood efforts, among the most powerful strategies for improving long-term outcomes for keiki and 'ohana. LT explored many successful early child-

hood programs across the paeaina and U.S. continent and selected the University of Michigan's Zero to Thrive Mom Power (MP) program to pilot. MP has potential to help family pilina. It is a 10-week program for mākuahine with keiki under 6 years of age. Core eomponents include attachment-based parenting, self-care, enhancing social supports, eonnecting to community resources, and supporting parent-child interactions. The program mirrors what our ancestors

practiced - strengthening pilina through ways to mālama self and keiki and building peer support. MP uses a tree metaphor that helps mākuahine understand that keiki need a safe and secure base (strong roots) to branch out and explore. The program supports mākuahine as they reflect on their upbringing and their interactions with their own keiki. LT piloted MP during Fall 2021 with two groups of 16 mākuahine. Curriculum was adapted to ensure cultural responsiveness for our mākuahine by connecting the eontent to Hawaiian values and incorporating traditional mo'olelo and protocol. Feedback has been positive. Many participants expressed interest in continued eonnections with eaeh other and for in-person sessions (COVID-19 has been a challenge for connecting). Mākuahine also reported feeling closer to their keiki, enjoying time together, increasing support by sharing their experiences, and having a more hopeful view of their future. Mākuahine shared stories of growth in, for example, new ways of responding when their keiki are expressing "big emotions" by addressing their keiki's needs versus reacting to their behaviors. Based on the success of our initial pilot programs, we believe these positive impacts will continue as we engage mākuahine in future programs that continue to connect them to 'ike kūpuna and their culture. We will continue to expand MP throughout the pae aina in 2022, while adapting to meet the needs of mākuahine and 'ohana. ■ If you wouM like more information regarding LT's early chiMhood work, contact Staci Hanashiro at shanashiro@onipaa.org. For more information on the University ofMichigan's Zero to Thrive, visit www.zerotothrive. org. Staci Hanashiro is the Early ChiMhood Development program manager at Lili'uokalani Trust. She discovered her passion for supporting expecting and new moms through her previous work at a community heahh center's perinatalprogratn. She received her bachelor's in social workfrom the University ofHawai'i and her master'sfrom Boston University. Staci was born and raised in Kāneohe, where she returned to help carefor herparents and raise her keiki.

Building pilina between keiki and makuahine is the objective of Lī's "Mom Power" program. - Pboto: Courtesy