New youth program seeks to inspire kids through culture, health

When canoe races were canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hui Nalu O Hawaii Canoe Club decided to pivot its popular summer youth paddling program to one that weaved in more cultural practices and hands-on learning. When that proved to be a success, head coach Denise Darval-Chang said the club wanted to build on that by offering it again this week during fall break.

From water-safety workshops, beach cleanups and CPR training to canoe paddling, Makahiki games and coconut weaving, kids enrolled in the free fall Malama ‘Opio program learn about the importance of culture and health at Maunalua Bay, she said. The goal is to engage the kids, most of whom are Pacific Islander and come from underserved communities and backgrounds, with activities that motivate and inspire them.

“I thought we could serve our kids in a different capacity,” said Darval­-Chang, a health and physical education resource teacher for the state Department of Education. “It’s about being proactive to try to serve them better. This is thinking outside of the box.”

Nearly 40 volunteers, including a professional chef, a Hokule‘a navigator and city first responders, came together to bring to life the one-week program, which began on Monday and ends Friday. Nearly two dozen enrolled kids, most of whom attend Kauluwela Elementary School, are split into smaller groups and spend four hours each day shuffling from one activity to the next.

On Wednesday, they learned how to descale, gut and prepare fish. Two volunteers donated the fish and showed the kids how to prepare it, and then a professional chef cooked it for them to eat.

After Genuine Samuel, 10, and Jade Lum, 11, both fifth graders at Kauluwela, enjoyed learning to prepare the fish, they gulped down three fish each. Both children migrated from Micronesia to Hawaii with their families when they were younger and said they would probably be staying at home or spending time at their cousins’ houses if they weren’t in the program.

“I love the opportunity to have fun times with my classmates and friends,” Jade said. “Canoeing is really fun. Sometimes I fall out of the canoe, but I get right back in.”

Genuine said it’s also fun participating in cultural activities, such as the Makahiki games, which she had never done before.

Darval-Chang said it was important that the program featured cultural activities, as well as offered opportunities for the youth to learn outside of the traditional classroom setting. Many of the activities also emphasize physical health and well being, which are critical to being better learners, she said.

“It just speaks to who we are living in Hawaii, and to their culture as people of an island heritage,” she said. “The little bit we do more often, the more that we’re reminded of our history, where we come from and the people who came before us.”

During the canoe club’s summer program this year, nearly 250 kids total were signed up for six one-week sessions. At $200 a week per child, Darval-Chang said they still had a long waiting list but were eventually able to take everyone who signed up. Because the canoe club canceled its summer program in 2020 due to the pandemic, Darval-Chang said they didn’t want to do that again this year.

She said the canoe club hopes to continue offering this type of culturally based program in the future, along with its regular summer paddling program. But to do this, she said they’d need more volunteer help and donations.

“It’s not me. I had the idea, and I got the committee together. But it’s the trusting and believing in everybody else that makes it come together,” she said. “Someday (the kids) will be the leaders, and if they remember somebody went out of their way to make something cool happen for them, maybe at some point they’ll return the favor.”

Darval-Chang added, “It’s really the village and the community coming together for the sake of the kids. That’s what our role is, to provide for these young ones.”

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Jayna Omaye covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national serv­ice organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under­covered issues and communities.