Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 5, 1 May 2004 — Contributions sought to send Hawaiian students to summer medical program at Harvard [ARTICLE]

Contributions sought to send Hawaiian students to summer medical program at Harvard

The Hawaiian political-action group the 'īlio'ulaokalani Coalition is seeking eommunity contributions for a program that would send 10 Native Hawaiian high school students to study at Harvard Medical School for three weeks this summer. 'īlio'ulaokalani, along with PA'I, the nonprofit ann of the hālau hula Pua Ali'i 'Ilima, have been developing the Hawai'i-Hopi Summer Program for three months. Despite holding a benefit dinner in March, the organizers are still short of the $115,000 needed to create the program and sustain it beyond this summer. The program will be an addition to several existing summer programs designed to increase the probability that Native American students will pursue medical or science degrees at leading universities 'īlio'ulaokalani representative Pi'ilani Smith said

it is important for the community to eome together to support this program because more physicians are needed to focus on Native Hawaiian health disparities. "If we want Hawaiian doctors, we need to mentor them and give them the opportunity to do that," Smith said. According to the Native Hawaiian Center for Excellence, Native Hawaiians comprise about 20 percent of Hawai'i's population, yet they represent only 5.5 percent of the state's 2,500 practicing physicians. The Harvard program will provide Native Hawaiian students with the opportunity to examine issues that affect their communities while developing their understanding of science and math. The Hawaiian 'ōpio will join the Hopi tribe of Arizona in Boston for three weeks in June, and together the groups will be familiarized with dorm life and the rigors of collegiate academia.

In order to halanee the western science aspect of the program with a traditional perspective, the Hawaiian 'ōpio will be guided through a week-long culture education course before they depart to Harvard. The nine girls and one boy selected for the program are all sophomores and juniors, and hail from O'ahu, Hawai'i island, Moloka'i and Maui. Smith said that the organizers avoided selecting seniors because they wanted the students to return to their schools after the program and inspire and inform their peers on the many educational opportunities open to Native Hawaiians. At the March benefit dinner, master navigator Nainoa Thompson, who will help teach the culture portion of the course, told the ten selected students: "You are navigating an extraordinary future ... but beyond becoming doctors, what we are really talking about is coming back as leaders. You need to understand the value of service, the value of giving back." For more information about contributing to the Hawai'i-Hopi Summer Program, eall 'īlio'ulaokalani at 845-465. ■