130 Kalāheo High School seniors descended on Kūkanono early last week to engage in four hours of community service work on and adjacent to Ulupō heiau. These haumāna were hosted by a multi-hat team of KHCC-AML-Hikaʻalani-HMI leaders: Kaʻolu Luning (newly elected KHCC treasurer, executive assistant at AML, Hikaʻalani board member, and HMI kumu hula), Maya Saffery (KHCC board member, HMI kumu hula, and Curriculum Specialist for Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language at UHM), and Momi Ramolete (KHCC kahu and board member, HMI dancer, and Vice-Principal at Kalāheo) -- along with a newly enlisted and very enthusiastic partner, David Lau of the Windward Y.
The Kalāheo visit brings the number of service-learners who have come to Ulupō since September to well-over 900. All but this last visit have been hosted Hikaʻalani's Kaleomanuʻiwa Wong (because Kaleo is currently navigating the Hōkūleʻa from Rapa Nui to Tahiti on her next-to-last leg of the Mālama Honua Voyage), and many have been conducted with the assistance of Maya, Ka‘olu, and Kalama‘ehu Takahashi (a KHCC member and recent scholarship recipient).
According to Kaleo and Maya's latest report to the Hikaʻalani board, the groups who have turned their hands down in the weeds and mud of our kīpuka include: Kailua Intermediate, Pūnāhou, ʻIolani, Tacoma High, HPU (administrators led by Lynette Cruz), Hālau Mōhala ʻIlima, Kupu, Hui Mālama i ke Ala ʻŪlili, Hui Mālama o ke Kai, Mississippi U., Semester at SEA, Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation, YMCA Kailua, Kalihi, and Mililani (winter break and community workday programs), MINA, and UHM classes taught by Noenoe Silva and Kekuewa Kikiloi.
The positive impact of these visits can be seen in a response by Kalāheo counselor Priscilla Fuentes Smith to Maya Saffery's FB post about her day with: "You did an amazing job and all the kids I spoke with had never heard of the moʻolelo you shared today. I also took the opportunity to educate the kids about the proposals out there to revitalize this land and I was very objective in my sharing (at least I tried to be) and hands down all these kids can not understand why the community would not want to restore the fishpond and have structures where they can engage and learn more. All the kids I spoke with said this: "Kailua is ALREADY a tourist attraction so why not educate the tourists and then we can really malama the ʻaina and feed our families!!! It was a very successful day and mahalo to you!"
– Kīhei de Silva
The Kalāheo visit brings the number of service-learners who have come to Ulupō since September to well-over 900. All but this last visit have been hosted Hikaʻalani's Kaleomanuʻiwa Wong (because Kaleo is currently navigating the Hōkūleʻa from Rapa Nui to Tahiti on her next-to-last leg of the Mālama Honua Voyage), and many have been conducted with the assistance of Maya, Ka‘olu, and Kalama‘ehu Takahashi (a KHCC member and recent scholarship recipient).
According to Kaleo and Maya's latest report to the Hikaʻalani board, the groups who have turned their hands down in the weeds and mud of our kīpuka include: Kailua Intermediate, Pūnāhou, ʻIolani, Tacoma High, HPU (administrators led by Lynette Cruz), Hālau Mōhala ʻIlima, Kupu, Hui Mālama i ke Ala ʻŪlili, Hui Mālama o ke Kai, Mississippi U., Semester at SEA, Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation, YMCA Kailua, Kalihi, and Mililani (winter break and community workday programs), MINA, and UHM classes taught by Noenoe Silva and Kekuewa Kikiloi.
The positive impact of these visits can be seen in a response by Kalāheo counselor Priscilla Fuentes Smith to Maya Saffery's FB post about her day with: "You did an amazing job and all the kids I spoke with had never heard of the moʻolelo you shared today. I also took the opportunity to educate the kids about the proposals out there to revitalize this land and I was very objective in my sharing (at least I tried to be) and hands down all these kids can not understand why the community would not want to restore the fishpond and have structures where they can engage and learn more. All the kids I spoke with said this: "Kailua is ALREADY a tourist attraction so why not educate the tourists and then we can really malama the ʻaina and feed our families!!! It was a very successful day and mahalo to you!"
– Kīhei de Silva
Photo: Brianna Marquez of Kalāheo HS