Page 6 - MidWeek - Dec 14, 2022

6 MIDWEEK DECEMBER 14, 2022
The Olomana mauna and the Koʻolaus nestle a 500-acre campus where young people farm kalo, work out, repair an age-old waʻa (canoe), obtain their GED, or engage in other skills training and Hawaiian cultural program- ming on any given day.
nity Youth Action Hawai‘i hui (OYAH) are continuing the work that has reduced the youth incarceration rate in Hawaiʻi by 82% over the last decade. And, they are making waves to zero youth incarcerated.
OYAH’s existing programs, expand outreach efforts, and further advocate for youth beyond Hawaiʻi.
That’s why OYAH uti- lizes therapeutic, Indige- nous methods to empower Hawaiʻi’s most vulnerable youth population.
A Project That Aims To End Youth Incarceration
By Annabelle Le Jeune, program outreach specialist with Partners in Development Foundation
The Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center is a puʻuhonua, or sanctuary, for opportunity youth who need a safe place to heal, learn and successfully transition back into society.
In October, the Kel- logg Foundation recog- nized OYAH’s project, “Kawailoa: A Transforma- tive Indigenous Model to End Youth Incarceration’’ as one of five global awardees to receive $20 million over the next eight years as part of the Racial Equity 2030 challenge.
The Kawailoa campus partners are steadfast in its efforts to combat years of generational and histori- cal trauma stemming from colonization and the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
The Hawaiʻi project will collect data and host cul- tural exchanges with other BIPOC communities facing similar challenges and for- ward a vision of Indigenous youth as leaders of social justice, not victims of jus- tice systems.
The campus embodies an ecosystem of support where Hawaiʻi Youth Correction- al Facility and Olomana School partner with commu-
Billy Richards, Partners in Development Foundation Hui Nohona manager, and Ryan Olivares, Olomana School wood shop and Hawaiian studies teacher, bless the wa‘a with ti leaf lei at the Hawai‘i Youth Correctional Facility with youth from the campus. PHOTO COURTESY OPPORTUNITY YOUTH ACTION HAWAI‘I
nity organizations Partners in Development Foundation and its Kupa ʻĀina Farm, Hale Kipa’s Hale Lanipōlua, Kinai ʻEha and Residential
Disconnected from their ʻāina, history and identity, there have been few means to nurture Native Hawaiians through the impacts of the past. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are over- represented at every stage in the justice system — and on their own homelands.
OYAH welcomes com- munity support and en- gagement to learn more and support Hawaiʻi’s youth. Learn more about the proj- ects that encourage youth voices at partnerships at wearekawailoa.org.
Youth Services & Empow- erment.
Together, the consortium of state and community part- ners known as the Opportu-
The fundamental support from the Kellogg Founda- tion network will strengthen
Mahalo to our Our K
Thank you for supporting
Hawai‘i Meals on Wheels at our Thanksgiving fundraiser! We are incredibly grateful for our sponsors, generous donors, and volunteers who helped us raise more than $120,000 for home- delivered meals. Homebound kūpuna will enjoy nutritious meals and human connection throughout the holiday season, into the new year. A warm aloha and mahalo to you and your family!
Call (808) 988-6747 or visit hmow.org to make a gift or to volunteer to deliver holiday meals!
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Steve and Marilyn Katzman Philanthropic Fund
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Hawaii USA Federal Credit Union
Hawaiian Electric
Chinen&Arinaga Financial Group, Inc. Chun Kerr LLC
Jason and Lisa Ito
Jani-King
Servco Foundation
Territorial Savings Bank
Keith and Polly Steiner Family Foundation