Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 7, 1 July 2022 — E Mau ana ka Ho'oilina o Lili'u [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

E Mau ana ka Ho'oilina o Lili'u

V E 'ONIPA'A KAKOU V ^ BE STEADFAST *

By Andrew Frias "Mālama 'ia nā pono o ka 'āina e nā 'ōpio; The traditions of the land are perpetuated by its young people." Lili'uokalani Trust (LT) has been hard at work on its 2045 Strategic Plan, spanning Early Childhood (ages 0-5), Youth Development (ages 6-18), and Opportunity Youth Services (ages 16-26). Built on a foundation of social ser-

innovative program delivery. While in-person programming is tremendously impactful, a hybrid model of online engagement that builds up to face-to-face interaction also has its merits. One recent program, Mana Music Camp, brought 60 youth together in a virtual space, meeting weekly for three months. They learned singing, 'ukulele, violin, eello, modern dance, and digital media, all of whieh was grounded in the Queen's mele and beloved attributes. These Zoom lessons offered an outlet for creative expression and promoted self-awareness, self-manage-ment, social-awareness, pilina-building, and responsible decision-making. In March 2022, the same 60 youth participated in a culminating "Queen's Jubilee Camp" held on the Queen's aina in Keahuolū, Kona. This five-day, fournight immersive learning experience enabled youth to dive deeper into their craft, adding layers to their experience and expertise! As with our traditions of

old, the youth revealed their learning through a hō'ike (performance) for their 'ohana and friends. As a community organization with a vision of E Nā Kamalei Lupalupa, Thriving Hawaiian Children, we know our work must be intentional, reflective and inherently "Hawai'i." We hope the impacts of this work will resonate with those we serve and will result in continued innovations to our service delivery. Even more so, the impact we feel and understand eaeh day is in the realization that

vices and community impact, the Hawai'i Island Youth Development (YD) team approaches healing for kamali'i and their 'ohana through pro-social engagement, deeply rooted in the reciprocity of teaching and learning. Programs are typically for youth who experience limited access to eeonomie necessities, normalized childhood poverty, and/or those who live in rural/ remote areas. The island is well-rep-resented, with participants coming from eaeh of the six moku: Hilo, Puna, Hāmākua, Kohala, Kona, and Ka u. COVID-19 sharpened our skills in

we have a rich heritage and legacy to perpetuate. Wehe ke ala, the path is clear. ■ Andrew "Andy" Frias is part of the Hawai'i Island Youth Development Team for Lili'uokalani Trust whieh includes: Landon Chinen, Jaysha Alonzo-Estrada, Mae'ole Quanan, Kāwika Urakami and intern Kinohi Malani. With a collective background in public health, social work, education, and systems change, Hawai'i Lsland programming addresses urgent needs through transformative opportunity.

Youth porticipoting in LT's 3-month-long Mono Music Comp on Howoi'i lslond were exposed to o voriety of string instruments, os well os singing, modern donce ond digitol medio. - Phoio: Lili'uokalani ītust