Hui Mālama O Ke Kai Holds Orientation Dinner For Parents and Students October 8, 2009

Hui Malāma O Ke Kai (HMK) held an orientation dinner on Thursday October 2nd at Blanche Pope Elementary School in Waimānalo, for parents and students enrolled in their 2009-2010 program, and has started off this year’s activities with a 3-day outing at Camp Kualoa on the northern end of Kāne‘ohe Bay.

HMK is an after-school youth development and prevention program that was established in 1998 by volunteers from the Waimānalo community, and whose mission is: “To develop pride and foster leadership in Waimānalo’s youth through teaching native Hawaiian culture and values.”

HMK is a vital after-school program that annually serves approximately forty (40), primarily Native Hawaiian, at-risk/at-promise 5th and 6th grade students attending Blanche Pope and Waimānalo Elementary Schools in Waimānalo as well as approximately twenty (20) dedicated HMK Program alumni in the 7th to 9th grades through the ‘Ōpio Junior Leadership Program.

Partners In Development Foundation (PIDF) assisted HMK in obtaining grant funds from the U.S. Department of Education/Native Hawaiian Education Act, in an effort to mentor small non-profit organizations who have been a positive influence in their community. PIDF President, Jan Hanohano Dill said, “We are proud to be a part of the development of this organization as it brings traditional values and culture to the keiki and ‘ōpio of Waimānalo”.

Partners In Development Foundation: “Preserving Our Culture, Empowering Our Communities”