hōʻama: to begin to ripen. Fig., adolescents beginning to mature.
huiMAU's HoAMa Youth Mentorship Programs include after school and summer programs that serve keiki in our Hāmākua community (ages 5-17) and their ʻohana, providing a safe learning environment for our keiki to cultivate strong relationships and support networks with peers, mentors, ʻohana, and ʻāina to support their education and growth as aloha ʻāina and success in school, at home, and in our communities.
Hōʻale a Maninini: Our Program Name
"...a ʻale aʻela ka wai a maninini ihola, a kahe akula, a kiʻo, a lilo i pūnāwai..."
HoAMa Program Logo by Haley Kailiehu, 2016.
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In the moʻolelo kaʻao of Ka-Miki, the young diligent keikikāne, Ka-Miki, is sent up to the summit of Maunakea by his grandmother to fetch the water of Waiau for his ʻūniki. At Waiau, he fills his kānoa (ʻawa bowl), named Hokuʻula, with the sacred water, and then climbs a nearby puʻu. Atop the puʻu, the water in his calabash is stirred up by the wind, causing it to overflow from the kānoa and spill onto the ʻāina. The water then flows down the mountain and underground in Kaʻohe where it eventually emerges as various springs around the mountain. The moʻolelo reads: "...a ʻale aʻela ka wai a maninini ihola, a kahe akula, a kiʻo, a lilo i pūnāwai..." Drawing upon this moʻolelo, we intend to be a catalyst of this resurgence: hōʻale a maninini: to cause our ʻohana and communities to surge and overflow with abundance once again.
The acronym for our name, HoAMa, draws upon the term “hōʻama,” which means “to begin to mature or ripen,” like adolescents reaching maturity. |
HoAMa Video Gallery
Video by Anianikū Chong, 2023