Keiki Papa Programs include in-school, intercession / summer programs, and annual ʻŌpio Fest that have served youth and their ʻohana in our Hāmākua community since 2016, providing safe Hawaiian culture-based, ʻāina learning environments for our youth to cultivate strong relationships and support networks with ʻāina, ʻohana, peers, and mentors to support their education and growth as keiki papa in our communities.
Our vision of “Noho papa Hāmākua” is founded upon the belief that a state of pono (prosperity, balance, equity, justice, well-being) will be reestablished once again in Hawaiʻi by a lāhui (nation, people) that embodies deep, intergenerational relationships with ʻāina as poʻe aloha ʻāina—responsible ʻohana and communitiescommitted to the long term well being of our ʻāina and each other. The term “noho papa” refers to people who have resided in and cared for a particular place for multiple generations. Nohopapa embody the knowledge, values, and relationships that are established through lived experiences in and active stewardship of a place over multiple generations, and from which ea (self-determination, self-governance) and pono for Hawaiʻi emerges. Similarly, the term, “keiki papa” refers to a “Native whose ancestors for several generations back were natives of the same place.”
In alignment with huiMAU’s vision of Nohopapa Hāmākua, our Keiki Papa Youth Programs seek to create safe spaces for keiki and ʻōpio in our Hāmākua and Hawaiʻi communities to engage in pathwaysthrough which we become noho papa in Hāmākua again. Our Keiki Papa Youth Programs include in-school, intercession / summer programs, and annual ʻŌpio Fest that have served youth and their ʻohana in our Hāmākua community since 2016 (under the program name, HoAMa), providing safe Hawaiian culture-based, ʻāina learning environments for over 50% of the youth in our community to cultivate strong relationships and support networks with ʻāina, ʻohana, peers, and mentors to support their education and growth as keiki papa in our communities.
Under the broader umbrella of our ʻĀina Education Programs, which serve community members of all ages at our ʻāina learning sites in Paʻauilo and Koholālele, our Keiki Papa Youth Programs are particularly focused on youth in our Hāmākua Hikina community. Keiki Papa is the next stage of the evolution of our HoAMa Youth Mentroship Programs, which began as our keiki after school and summer programs in 2016. After going through the most challenging years of the pandemic in our community, we re-opened our HoAMa After School and Summer Program in phases, and came to find that the need for these kinds of services had changed in our community during that time. Intercession programs remained a high priority and area of need, but after school programming, for various reasons, was no longer in high demand. As such, our organization spent the past year reflecting, researching, and reorganizing to adapt our program offerings to meet the current needs of our community.
Our Keiki Papa Youth Programs are a result of our intentions to adapt and grow to meet these needs, while refocusing in on pathways that lead us collectively closer towards our vision of Noho papa Hāmākua. A question that guides our development of these programs is: “What conditions are necesarry for keiki in our community to be able to noho papa—to be able to live and thrive in this place for their entire lifetime, and for their keiki and moʻopuna to be able to do the same for generations?” Knowing that a vast majority of the youth in our community attend Paʻauilo Elementary & Middle School, and then Honokaʻa High School, we decided to shift our focus to developing and strengthening strategic partnerships with these schools to provide quality Hawaiian culture- and place-based ʻāina education to all the keiki and ʻōpio enrolled at these schools.
Currently, we have a contract agreement with Paʻauilo Elem. & Middle School for the 2023-24 school year, which includes Hawaiian culture-based programming one day per week in-school for grades K-5; ʻāina educational programming one day per week at our ʻāina learning sites in Paʻauilo and Koholālele for grades 3-8; and professional development programming twice per year for faculty and staff. While this is the first year that we have an official contract with Paʻauilo School, our organization has been partnering with Paʻauilo School in various capacities since 2014. Additionally, we are currently working out arrangements with multiple teachers at Honokaʻa Elementary and High School to have their Alternative Learning Program and various grade-level classes come to engage in ʻāina education at our ʻāina learning sites regularly throughout this school year.
In addition to these direct partnerships with DOE schools in our district, our Keiki Papa Programs also include our Keiki Papa Summer Program (3-week, day time) for keiki ages 5-13; and our KOʻA Camps (4-day immersive camps) for ʻōpio ages 13-17 during Fall, Spring, and Summer intercessions.
In alignment with huiMAU’s vision of Nohopapa Hāmākua, our Keiki Papa Youth Programs seek to create safe spaces for keiki and ʻōpio in our Hāmākua and Hawaiʻi communities to engage in pathwaysthrough which we become noho papa in Hāmākua again. Our Keiki Papa Youth Programs include in-school, intercession / summer programs, and annual ʻŌpio Fest that have served youth and their ʻohana in our Hāmākua community since 2016 (under the program name, HoAMa), providing safe Hawaiian culture-based, ʻāina learning environments for over 50% of the youth in our community to cultivate strong relationships and support networks with ʻāina, ʻohana, peers, and mentors to support their education and growth as keiki papa in our communities.
Under the broader umbrella of our ʻĀina Education Programs, which serve community members of all ages at our ʻāina learning sites in Paʻauilo and Koholālele, our Keiki Papa Youth Programs are particularly focused on youth in our Hāmākua Hikina community. Keiki Papa is the next stage of the evolution of our HoAMa Youth Mentroship Programs, which began as our keiki after school and summer programs in 2016. After going through the most challenging years of the pandemic in our community, we re-opened our HoAMa After School and Summer Program in phases, and came to find that the need for these kinds of services had changed in our community during that time. Intercession programs remained a high priority and area of need, but after school programming, for various reasons, was no longer in high demand. As such, our organization spent the past year reflecting, researching, and reorganizing to adapt our program offerings to meet the current needs of our community.
Our Keiki Papa Youth Programs are a result of our intentions to adapt and grow to meet these needs, while refocusing in on pathways that lead us collectively closer towards our vision of Noho papa Hāmākua. A question that guides our development of these programs is: “What conditions are necesarry for keiki in our community to be able to noho papa—to be able to live and thrive in this place for their entire lifetime, and for their keiki and moʻopuna to be able to do the same for generations?” Knowing that a vast majority of the youth in our community attend Paʻauilo Elementary & Middle School, and then Honokaʻa High School, we decided to shift our focus to developing and strengthening strategic partnerships with these schools to provide quality Hawaiian culture- and place-based ʻāina education to all the keiki and ʻōpio enrolled at these schools.
Currently, we have a contract agreement with Paʻauilo Elem. & Middle School for the 2023-24 school year, which includes Hawaiian culture-based programming one day per week in-school for grades K-5; ʻāina educational programming one day per week at our ʻāina learning sites in Paʻauilo and Koholālele for grades 3-8; and professional development programming twice per year for faculty and staff. While this is the first year that we have an official contract with Paʻauilo School, our organization has been partnering with Paʻauilo School in various capacities since 2014. Additionally, we are currently working out arrangements with multiple teachers at Honokaʻa Elementary and High School to have their Alternative Learning Program and various grade-level classes come to engage in ʻāina education at our ʻāina learning sites regularly throughout this school year.
In addition to these direct partnerships with DOE schools in our district, our Keiki Papa Programs also include our Keiki Papa Summer Program (3-week, day time) for keiki ages 5-13; and our KOʻA Camps (4-day immersive camps) for ʻōpio ages 13-17 during Fall, Spring, and Summer intercessions.
Video by Anianikū Chong, 2023