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The echo of pahu drums under the darkened sky signaled to the 200 volunteers who stood waiting that it was time to begin their work: planting Maui’s first uluniu (coconut grove) in over 100 years. Cradled between grand sand dunes and the Kapoho Fishpond at the Waiheʻe Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge, Uluniu o Kapuawailana was established the evening of January 22.

“This uluniu will be dedicated to and honor the legacy of Liliʻuokalani, the last sovereign queen of Hawaiʻi,” said Kiaʻiokaʻuhane Collier, manager of Āina Stewardship for the Hawaiʻi Land Trust.

Following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the relationship between Kānaka and this important traditional resource was disrupted, leading to the loss of thriving coconut groves and the everyday use of niu in Hawaiʻi.

Thus, the uluniu was planted as a tribute to Liliʻuokalani’s commitment to aloha ʻāina, setting an intention for the wellbeing of the new coconut grove and, consequently, of the people who will be nourished by a practice and place rooted in Hawaiian culture for generations to come.

Participants and practitioners from across the pae ʻāina represented cross-sector participation to show what is possible when various partners come together: Niu Now, Community Coconut Program from DLNR’s Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program; UH West Oʻahu; Hawaiʻi Land Trust (HILT); Ka Poholima Kāʻeo; Pōhaku Pelemaka; with hoʻoponopono practitioners, kūpuna, volunteers, and community members.

Together, they entered into mū ka waha, a sacred ritual of stilling voice to focus intention, planting in silence for the next three hours beneath the night sky to the steady beat of drumming and the chant, He Pule Niu, calling for the growth of coconut, culture, and community.

Exactly 133 coconut trees were planted that evening, “One tree for every year since the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom,” said Collier. Planting the coconut grove marked an act of resilience and healing.

While the trees were being carefully tucked into the ground, a crew from Ka Pōholima Kāʻeo stacked stones to build and complete an ahu (shrine) to mark a promise, sealing the significance of the moment, and reinforcing commitment to aloha ʻāina.

Twenty-three coconut varieties were carefully selected from a coconut nursery that Niu Now, the Coconut Community Program, and HILT started in preparation for this uluniu nearly a year ago. Seedlings were harvested from across Maui, each chosen for its distinct qualities: those used in Makahiki ceremony; those resilient to high-sand soils; varieties prized for their long fibers or favored for productivity, or the flavor of their water, meat, or milk.

The coconut seedlings were mostly planted using the polymotu practice, a traditional uluniu model adapted with contemporary techniques, grouping three or more trees of the same variety to promote and maintain genetic diversity.

The evening selected for planting purposefully aligned with the favorable farming practice of the Kūkolu mahina phase, which means “to stand in threes.” Huli planted during these moon phases are believed to shoot up like coconut trees.

The idea for Uluniu o Kapuawailana emerged about two years ago when Collier crossed paths with Niu Now members Indrajit Gunasekara, Kekaula Hanohano and Jesse Mikasobe-Kealiinohomoku. Together, they envisioned a way to reconnect people with coconut as a cultural responsibility and a foundation of food sovereignty.

Collier is the primary caretaker of the Waiheʻe refuge and leader of Ka Pōholima Kāʻeo, the fishpond restoration group working with HILT toward a Hawaiian-led space filled with fish, food, and cultural resources concentrated in one location to sustain community wellbeing.

“The preparation work is a lot,” said Hanohano, a coconut practitioner, and one of the main caretakers of Maui’s newly established uluniu. “These plants thrive and we’ve seen a lot of success even in the harshest environments. So our intention is to just preserve those varieties of place.”

Uluniu o Kapuawailana was planned in concert with the two-day ʻAha Hoʻoponopono Honua gathering held at UH Maui College and various sites around the island, which emphasized the importance of reconnecting people to ʻāina as a path to healing. In the face of the looming threat of the invasive Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle – and the continued practice of trimming the coconuts off trees – replanting niu becomes an act of healing and reclamation.

“When we heal land, we heal ourselves. When we heal ourselves, we heal land. It’s a simultaneous thing,” said Manu Aluli Meyer, hoʻoponopono practitioner and co-founder of Niu Now.

When the last coconut tree was planted, a light drizzle began eventually giving way to a steady downpour, blessing the freshly planted coconut seedlings. Meyer shared: “Hahai no ka ua i ka ulu lāʻau. Plant a forest and the rains will come.” Share purpose with others and transform the world.

The evening closed with a hōʻike to honor Hanohano as a loea uluniu (coconut grove master practitioner).

“That title means I also need to constantly learn,” he said. He notes that without the traditional governance systems that once distributed care for Hawaiʻi’s lands, roles like his become vital to ensure “that people have kuleana to those spaces.”

As a loea uluniu on urbanized Oʻahu where most coconut trees are pruned, he admits he has no direct access nearby to gather coconuts. That reality fuels his dedication to establish more uluniu throughout Hawaiʻi and reconnect people with a once-abundant relationship with coconuts.

Uluniu o Kapuawailana follows the growing niu movement, building on successful models such as the uluniu at Kūkaniloko established five years ago, where more than 100 coconut trees – of 16 varieties – were planted in service of a shared vision: that everyone in Hawaiʻi will once again have access to coconuts.

The post The First Coconut Grove Planted on Maui in Over 100 Years appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

In her Kailua-Kona home, Leilani Fukushima listens carefully as her 3-year-old daughter sings in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and dances down the hallways to a mele about the mahina that she learned in class that week.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Leilani and her two keiki trot into their Tūtū and Me classroom, a Hawaiian culture-based educational program offered by Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF) and designed to support both preschool-aged keiki and their caregivers.

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But Leilani’s daughter is not the only one who brings her lessons back home.

“It’s good for me too, to learn,” said Fukushima. “I’m about a quarter Hawaiian and I really don’t know a lot of the language.”

For the Fukushima ʻohana, Tūtū and Me is more than just a school. It’s a place to get connected and grounded in community, culture and self. The PIDF program is just one of several Hawaiian culture-based education programs in an effort across Hawaiʻi to holistically activate the potential of keiki and caregivers to sustain thriving communities.

Meeting the Needs of Hawaiʻi’s ʻOhana

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About 30 years ago, three community-based organizations rooted in traditional Hawaiian values and teachings, were independently founded to help bridge the gap for Hawaiʻi’s ʻohana to access quality, free (or affordable), and culturally informed early childhood education for keiki from birth to 5 years old.

Partner organizations Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture (INPEACE), Keiki o ka ʻĀina (KOKA), and PIDF, emerged around the same time with a common purpose to nurture the health and educational readiness of Hawaiʻi’s parents and keiki.

Hawaiʻi’s public school system offers limited early childhood education options for families. And for households in remote or rural communities, finding a preschool that is not only accessible but affordable is a challenge.

The most recent data released by the State of Hawaiʻi’s Executive Office on Early Learning, finds that nearly 40% of Hawaiʻi’s preschool-aged keiki are not enrolled in a preschool program.

What’s more, studies show that 90% of brain development occurs before the age of 5, and is shaped by positive interactions between keiki and caregiver, and access to early learning experiences, good nutrition, and regular healthcare.

That’s why organizations like INPEACE, KOKA and PIDF offer comprehensive programs and services that extend beyond the classroom setting. These organizations recognize that the health of the community begins with the health of the ʻohana unit.

Each organization offers unique and complementary wrap-around services designed with the whole ʻohana in mind.

Keiki to kūpuna can participate and benefit from a menu of often interconnected focus areas including ʻāina-based learning, health and wellness, food security (i.e., access to affordable, healthy, local produce), financial literacy, and workforce development – to name a few.

The Key Ingredient to a Child’s Success: Parents

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During a keiki’s early development, “their parents are their first and best teachers,” said Ann Sullivan, Program Manager at KOKA.

Sullivan got her start in early childhood education programs 15 years ago when she enrolled her own daughter in a program known as Poli’s Place, KOKA’s first parent participation preschool designed for ʻohana with keiki who have special needs and unique abilities.

That’s when she began to understand the value of family-child interaction learning (FCIL), a model for early childhood education that emphasizes both child development and family strengthening.

The “family-child” concept is inclusive of the diverse and multi- generational caregivers for keiki in Hawaiʻi, whether that caregiver is a parent, grandparent, aunty or uncle.

Today, KOKA offers FCIL programs like the Parent Participation Preschool, a program modeled after Kamehameha Schools’ traveling preschool program which operated from 1981 until 1996 when the program transitioned to KOKA.

Twice a week, KOKA’s preschool teachers set up a “pop-up” preschool at different communities like Waimānalo or Nānākuli, where caregivers and keiki join, participate, interact, and engage in culturally integrated learning.

In Hawaiʻi, there are approximately 154,000 keiki under the age of eight. Equipping Hawaiʻi’s families with the tools and resources needed to nurture the growth of a keiki’s education yields longterm, positive outcomes. The impact of early education cannot be overstated. Studies show that children who attend high-quality preschools are more likely to finish high school and attend college.

KOKA’s FCIL programs are all about setting the foundation for what early learning looks like. For keiki who have never been in a classroom before, that may look like getting used to a routine with protocol and piko, practicing social skills by sitting down together ʻohana style to share snacks and kūkākūkā (talk story), or building independence during quiet time activities like playing games or reading.

What sets FCIL programs apart is their focus on enhancing high- quality early childhood education to prepare young keiki for school success, and providing culturally relevant caregiver education to equip caregivers to support their keiki’s education and model these leadership values within their families. Their programs serve approximately 2,300 keiki every year.

“The most important thing is that we’re going to provide a safe, nurturing, loving environment for our keiki,” said Sullivan. That allows ʻohana to build on what they learn at KOKA and continue nurturing and growing that within their homes.

While the heart of these programs are intended to support ʻohana, in the aʻo aku, aʻo mai (giving and receiving) of knowledge perspective, the staff are learners, too. For the KOKA Family Learning Centers, reciprocity in teaching and learning is fundamental.

“Families come with so much ʻike of their own and we want an exchange of knowledge, we want to see them building relationships, creating a sense of ʻohana amongst each other, it’s a kākou thing” said Sullivan.

Hawaiian Culture-Based Education

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Caregivers are a child’s first and most important teachers so preschool kumu focus their instruction on lessons that help both keiki and caregiver to thrive.

Ka Lama Education Academy is INPEACE’s flagship program with a grow-your-own-teacher model developed to loop their early childhood education program in a full-circle approach with kumu who come from the same or similar communities as the keiki and caregivers they serve, and then tailor the curriculum to connect the preschool to the community.

“We know that teachers who are from the community, who are raised in the community can communicate, can relate, can build pilina (relationship) with the students that they are teaching,” said Sanoe Marfil, CEO of INPEACE.

Teachers who go through Ka Lama Education Academy graduate with degrees in education through the University of Hawaiʻi system or other institutions. They choose their own pathway, oftentimes alongside a cohort of other students, and are supported with mentorship and professional training throughout their college career.

When caregivers and keiki can identify with and see themselves in their kumu, they feel safe and are able to trust in them to guide their educational journey. It creates a non-intimidating space to learn, especially for first-time caregivers.

At INPEACE’s preschool Keiki Steps program, every day starts with keiki, caregivers and kumu joining together in protocol. They start with kaunoʻo (learning centers), embedded in Hawaiian culture-based education. For example, a lesson on “transportation” might require keiki to kilo (observe) and think about what different kinds of transportation look like.

In a Western classroom, you would likely hear about buses and airplanes. But at Keiki Steps, they think about what transportation looks like in Hawaiʻi. That could be a waʻa (canoe), a manu (bird) or even the Kaiāulu wind in Waiʻanae. It’s about shifting perspectives to incorporate a Hawaiian worldview and perpetuate that ʻike and those practices as a people.

ʻEleu: Activating and Advocating for Early Childhood Education

Together, INPEACE, KOKA and PIDF make up the ʻEleu consortium, a collective of early childhood education partners that operate both Hawaiian culture-based education and family-child interaction learning programs.

By advocating together, ʻEleu partners deliver high-quality education to communities that often face specific challenges and barriers including lower-incomes, houselessness, lack of transportation and other special needs.

Most FCIL programs in Hawaiʻi are accredited. For example, the early childhood education programs of both INPEACE and KOKA are accredited by the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium, and PIDF is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

For more than 15 years, ʻEleu has organized an annual Native Hawaiian Early Childhood Education Consortium Conference. It’s an opportunity for each organization to report on successes and advancements in their respective programs, share new information, learn from one another, and build pilina with other early childhood educators – as well as to advocate for community initiatives and government policies that support early childhood learning.

The first five years of a child’s life are the most important, with 90% of brain development occurring by the time a child starts kindergarten. These are formative years that are crucial for healthy socio-emotional development and for language learning.

That’s why caregivers – as their child’s first teacher and the one they spend most of their time with – are encouraged to create the most optimal learning environment possible at their own homes; one that intentionally integrates quality education into daily activities.

At INPEACE, KOKA and PIDF, caregivers are also introduced to curriculum developed to build upon a multi-generational education model deeply rooted in Hawaiian values and practices.

There’s a reason why ʻohana like the Fukushimas, a multi-generational household, keep returning to Tūtū and Me: the kumu and friends really make it feel like “family.”

“It takes special people to actually want to work with the kids and they really show that they want to be there,” said Fukushima. “They’re all so sweet and so kindhearted and they’re very understanding. My kids love them, we love them.”

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By Annabelle Le Jeune, Partners in Development Foundation

When Michelle Omerod was in high school, she witnessed many of her friends and peers shuffle in and out of foster homes. Some homes, she remembers, were less than ideal for youth in need of extra emotional support.

“My friends were really traumatized,” she said.

That’s why, when Michelle and her husband, Aaron, bought their home in Keaʻau, they opened up their doors to hānai (care for) keiki in foster care – especially teenagers. They currently have six hānai keiki and three biological keiki – and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Since 2020, the Omerods have fostered over 20 ʻōpio (youth). They have also extended a helpful hand to including numerous other keiki in the community who just wanted a safe place to stay and feel loved, even if only temporarily.

Aaron Omerod is a correctional officer. With his background and training, he shares with Michelle how to identify behavior indicative of trauma. Together, they support their keiki as best they can.

“Nobody wants to take on teens because of their ‘baggage.’ But this is their last chance before they become an adult,” Aaron said. “This is our chance to make a difference before we see them on the other side of the bars.”

In Hawaiʻi, there are approximately 1,200 keiki in foster care, and nearly 300 are teenagers. More than half of the incarcerated youth and adult population in Hawaiʻi have a Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander background, and many of those were involved in systems of foster care, child welfare, mental health services, special education, or family court.

“We really value the foster homes we are privileged to work with and have a special place in our hearts for our teen homes like the Omerod ʻohana,” said Alana Power, project director of Project Pilina. “What they communicate to these young lives in foster care is that you are worth loving and investing time in – and that kindness they share in providing a safe home makes such a difference. We hope to empower more community members to do the same.”

Project Pilina is a statewide program that recruits and guides resource caregiver applicants through the first steps of the general licensing process. The program, under Partners in Development Foundation, seeks to build relationships within island communities by raising awareness about foster care. For anyone ready to start the application process, a community liaison will serve and assist in the initial steps of the general licensing process to foster keiki.

For those who are unsure about taking the first steps in becoming resource caregivers, there are many other ways to support children in the Hawaiʻi foster care system.

Every month, Project Pilina hosts virtual statewide information sessions with community liaisons open to anyone interested in learning more about foster care, volunteer opportunities, and other ways to get involved. Participants may also have an opportunity to hear directly from former youth in foster care or current resource caregivers.

Community events like the East Hawaiʻi’s Job Readiness Fair are designed to help youth in foster care and those with resource caregivers. The event focuses on workforce preparedness and basic financial education and youth who attend will be able to choose gift cards for Old Navy, Macy’s, or Jean’s Warehouse to purchase job-ready attire. The next job readiness fair will be held at the Connect Point Church in Hilo on Saturday, May 6 from 8:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. and all interested youth are encouraged to attend.

While the Omerod ʻohana will continue to open their heart and home to keiki in care, they urge the larger community to support the overall foster care system.

“Honestly, it’s not even just for foster homes, really. Other people, too, should try to provide assistance for the state because they need help. There’re so many kids and there aren’t enough social workers. It’s not their fault. The foster care system struggles because they need more help,” Michelle said.

The Omerods sometimes experience challenges raising their hānai and biological keiki together, but they say that the rewards of supporting youth in foster care far outweigh the adversities.

The couple agrees that seeing the keiki overcome each boundary and obstacle thrown their way because of the situation they were born into inspires them to keep going.

The post Opening Their Hearts to Keiki in Foster Care appeared first on Ka Wai Ola.

When a high school math teacher noticed that her frequently absent student showed up to their community church every week she wondered, “what’s going on?”

Tenth-grader Patricia Duh had just lost her mother and had been in and out of foster homes for most of her teenage years. Upon learning this, the high school teacher and her husband filed for a child-specific fostering license and opened the door to what would be Patricia’s final placement – a place she still calls home.

“Young people are just looking for a place where they can belong,” Duh said. “We’ve gone through so many hardships where people have failed us in the past.”

Duh went on to become a resource caregiver (foster parent) to two foster youth while caring for her own biological child. She also earned herself a seat among the 4% of foster youth who obtain a bachelor’s degree, turning her life experiences into positive outcomes as the Pono Process Lead for Epic ʻOhana.

While Duh’s case is unique, her experiences are shared and speak for many children in the foster care system. On any given day in Hawaiʻi, there are approximately 1,500 children in foster care. Over half of those foster children are Native Hawaiian.

“We’re trying to find resource caregivers that will accept children for who they are and support them in being successful in the future, and that could mean reunification with their parents, or in school, making friends, or just being themselves and being okay with being themselves,” said Monica Kaʻauwai, Kauaʻi Community Liaison at Project Pilina, a foster care services program of nonprofit Partners in Development Foundation.

Project Pilina is a statewide program that recruits and guides resource caregiver applicants through the first steps of the general licensing process. Kaʻauwai and her teammates seek to build relationships within island communities by raising awareness about foster care. For anyone ready to start the application process, a community liaison will serve and assist in the general licensing process.

While being a resource caregiver can be challenging, Kaʻauwai notes that “it’s also rewarding when you get to spend time with a child who has basically had everything taken away from them – and you get to support them in just being a typical kid.”

For those who are unsure about taking the first steps in becoming resource caregivers, there are many other ways to support children in the Hawaiʻi foster care system.

Foster Care Session – Long Description

Every month Project Pilina hosts virtual statewide information sessions with local community liaisons that are open to anyone interested in learning more about foster care, volunteer opportunities, and other ways to get involved. Participants may also have an opportunity to hear directly from former foster youth or current resource caregivers.

Other community events, like Kaʻauwai’s free family movie night in Anahola at the end of May, will celebrate National Foster Care Awareness Month. Events include participatory activities that embrace ʻohana in all shapes and sizes, help keiki feel good about themselves, and build pride in one’s ʻohana – whether biological or hānai (fostered or adopted).

When Duh looks back at what supported her most through her times of need, she recalls an incident when, as a teen, she chucked everything out of her room, crying in a rage, and locked herself in the closet. Her mom, as Duh still calls her to this day, sat outside of the closet and just waited for her daughter to get through her emotions and calm down.

“My foster mom knew – something is happening right now, and I don’t know how to help her, but I’m not going to leave. I’m not going to pry, but I’m also not going to leave in this moment. That memory stays with me forever till today. The fact that someone showed up, like really showed up,” recalled Duh.

Every time her foster parents stood by her side, even when they did not know exactly what was happening or how to help, their patience and presence was all the love Patricia Duh needed to persevere.

Go to www.pidf.org for more information about becoming a resource caregiver and for details about the next statewide information sessions on May 2 at 6 p.m. and on June 14 at 9 a.m. Partners in Development Foundation empowers families to navigate social challenges and to grow self-resiliency, vibrancy, and healthy, secure communities in Hawaiʻi.

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