Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 7, 1 July 2022 — Moloka'i Holokai Ho'olaule'a: Empowering, Equipping, Educating, Challenging and Motivating Youth [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Moloka'i Holokai Ho'olaule'a: Empowering, Equipping, Educating, Challenging and Motivating Youth

By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi In 1998, retired professional windsurfer Clare Seeger Albino founded Youth in Motion (YIM) on the island ofMoloka'i. Her visionwas to "empower, equip, educate, challenge and motivate youth through activities that engage and develop their mental, emotional, creative and physical skills on the land and in the oeean." YIM welcomes keiki of all ages to participate in free activities such as swimming, windsurfing and kayaking. When it obtained nonprofit status in 2003, YIM launched A Celebration of Youth Opportunities/Na 'Ōpio Hana Pa'a. Within a month, plans for that snowballed to include a Maui-to-Moloka'i oeean race for wind-powered craft; University of Hawai'i-sponsored sporting clinics around Moloka'i; and a ho'olaule'a at Mālama Park in Kaunakakai. YIM held the festival there until 2007. In subsequent years, YIM tried other venues, tweaked the event's format and changed its name a few times, finally settling on Moloka'i Holokai (Seafarer) Ho'olaule'a. Moloka'i Holokai was a stand-up paddleboard race that the Moloka'i 'Ohana Surf Club hosted until 2013. Five years later, they allowed YIM to adopt the race as part of its annual youth celebration. Thus, the name Moloka'i Holokai Ho'olaule'a eame about, with YIM committed to fulfill the Moloka'i Holokai's mission to "embody our inherent Hawaiian cultural values — taking care of the land and sea, giving back to the community, honoring host culture/language, and respecting others." Born in Singapore and raised in Poole, England, from the age of 6, Alhino excelled in many sports when she attended high school - even winning distinction as the youngest British marathon runner in 1981 when she was 15 years old. At 16, she heeame a professional windsurfer, traveling the world and ending up in Hawai'i in 1989. She

finished her career as the state's ehampion from 1990 to 1993, the year she also won national aeelaim as the United States' women's slalom ehampion. "It was hard being a young woman competing in male-dominated sports without a wealthy family or other hnaneial resources," said Alhino, who has lived on Moloka'i for 30 years. "I struggled to find sponsors; without them, I would never have made it as far as I did. I realized many talented youths would not reach their goals and full potential because they eome from areas and backgrounds that make it difhcult to obtain the neeessary support. That inspired me to set up a foundation to help them make their dreams eome true." After breaks in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, the Moloka'i Holokai Ho'olaule'a is back this year. The Maui to Moloka'i Challenge on Friday, July 8, will begin at 9 a.m. at D.T. Fleming Beach. Visitors and kama aina aged 14 and up will cross the 26-mile Pailolo Channel to Kaunakakai Harbor on one- and two-person canoes, stand-up foil and paddle boards, and some wind craft. The Kamalō Run the next day is a 10-mile "downwinder" from Kamalō Harbor to the Moloka'i Community Health Center starting between 11 a.m. and noon for participants riding stand-up paddle boards, and between noon and 1 p.m. for entrants using canoes and SUP foils. Other courses run 2-5 miles with varying start times - and there's even a 3/4-mile race for mākua and keiki. The ho'olaule'a begins at noon at the health center with entertainment, a craft fair, food booths and a Keiki Fun Corner featuring bouncy castles, a water slide and other fun diversions for children. New this year is the Gorilla Ogo and Mangrove Seed Contest. Prizes will be given to those who ean collect the most of those non-native invasive species that plague Moloka'i's shores on July 8 and 9 from 8 a.m. to noon.

i Sign up online at molokaiholokai.com or in person at Kaunakakai Wharf at 8 a.m. on July 8. Native Hawaiians comprise about 61% of Moloka'i's l population — more than twice the percentage on any other island except Ni'ihau. I "The kids in Youth in Motion are primarily Hawaiian, ; but we encourage all youth to participate in our programs and activities no matter their skin color," Albino said. "I'm a social studies teacher at Moloka'i High i School, and I love trying to inspire them and sharing stories of how they've grown up to be responsible, eoni tributing adults. I ean also tell you stories about troubled kids; it's heartbreaking to see them get into substance abuse, for example. When I see them on the street, I always tell them they ean eome back to Youth in Motion when they are ready." I YIM operates primarily on donations and kōkua ffom i volunteers. Fife gets busy, but Albino believes it's imperl ative to find time to mentor youngsters because they are l our future. "For the Moloka'i Holokai Ho'olaule'a, adults ean put everything else aside, celebrate our kids and motivate them to be the best they ean be — not settle for less and not give up," she said. "I believe doing something ffom l your heart is the best way to give to them. Money helps, of course, but what's more important is how mueh your heart ean give." ■ • For more information about the Moloka'i Holokai i Ho'olaule'a, go to molokaiholokai.com or eall Clare or Gorl don Alhino at (808) 336-0946 or (808) 658-6003. ' Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi has written 12 books and countless ■ newspaper, magazine and website articles about Hawai'i's ' history, culture,food and lifestyle.

Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, vice-chair of the Maui County Council who holds the eouneil seat for Molokai, and her son l'a finish their five-mile Kamalo Run paddle. - Photot: Courtesy of Youth in Motion

Lara Claydon and Zane Schweitzer show their stuff during the 10-mile Kamalo Run. - Photo: Rufus Frost

The start of the %-mile keiki and mākua Kamalo Run race. - Photo: PF Eentley