Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 8, 1 August 2014 — Student living abroad connects to culture through Explorations [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Student living abroad connects to culture through Explorations

By Cheryl Corbiell With half of the estimated 400,000 Hawaiians worldwide living outside Hawai'i, it may not be too surprising that Kamehameha Schools Explorations, the popular Native Hawaiian summer enrichment program, attracts intemational participants. "We've noticedNative Hawaiian students from outside of Hawai'i are enrolling in the Explorations programs. Of the 4,000 Explorations students this year, four were from Japan, three from Germany and one from Saudi Arabia," said Miehelle Barte, education specialist in KS's Hawaiian Culture-Based Education Department. "All students have their Native Hawaiian

— Nalei Phillips

Last year, my eyes were opened to how people polluting the land and oeean halfway around the world ean impact people in Hawai'i. Not all countries believe in recycling and conservation."

ancestry verified." The Explorations Series eomprises three one-week summer boarding programs held at 13 locations statewide. The programs - called Ho'omāka'ika'i, Ho'olauna and Kūlia I Ka Pono - target Native Hawaiian students from grade six to nine who do not attend Kamehameha Schools full time. Nalei Phillips is an eighth-grade student who has participated in Ho'olauna on O'ahu in 2013 and again this year. Phillips is Native Hawaiian and was born and raised in Kailua, Oahu, but lives in the Middle East - some 9,000 miles away. Phillips moved with her parents to Saudi Arabia five years ago in the eeonomie downturn when the company her parents worked for went bankrupt. Phillips attends Aramco Expatriate Ras Tanura Middle School in the northern part of the country. "Hawai'i is home for me," said Phillips. "Last year, my eyes were opened to how people polluting the land and oeean halfway around the world ean impact people

in Hawai'i. Not all countries believe in recycling and conservation." Ho'olauna is tailored to gradeseven and -eight students and develops a deeper understanding of the relationship between environment and people. Students engage in hands-on cultural practices, visit significant cultural and spiritual places, and work with community members and kūpuna within speeihe moku (districts). This year Ho'olauna students focused on water systems. "I learned how to take water samples and test for turbidity or cloudiness of water, salinity or saltiness, the water's pH level and the presence of harmful compounds. All creatures depend on water, so the health of the water is essential to life," said Phillips. Phillips and her classmates worked at He'eia Fishpond and helped clear invasive mangroves. "It was hard work, and it will take a lot of volunteer hours to eventually clear the entire fishpond of manSEE EXPL0RATI0NS ON PAGE 21

Nalei Phillips. - Courtesy: Kamehameha Schools

EXPL0RATI0NS

Continued from page 13 grove. We also learned the benefits of traditional fishing techniques using traps and nets versus modern methods with poles and spears," said Phillip s . "I was sad when we were counting fish in a stream and catching hundreds of invasive fish that are destroying habitat for native 'o'opu and 'ōpae. These small native species are disappearing. I want to help by having a career in science. When I eome back, I want to volunteer to restore 0'ahu's streams," said Phillips.

Nalei's mother, Lia Phillips, says her daughter was so inspired by the program that she planned to volunteer at He'eia Fishpond for two weekends before she heads back to school in Saudi Arabia, and she will return next summer for Explorations' Kūlia I Ka Pono program. Says Lia: "The Explorations programis helping Nalei stay connected to her culture, history and reinforces her sense of plaee. She is learning what it means to be Hawaiian." ■

Chervl Corbiell is an Instructor at the University of Hawai'i, Maui. College-Moloka'i. and coordinator for TeenACE and ACE Readi.ng programs.