E HU E – Hawaiian Language and Culture for Community Capacity Building

Kūlaniākea will develop and implement a cohesive, culturally age-appropriate educational program for all ages in order to support the Native Hawaiian language and culture in Ko’olaupoko. Due to the onslaught of the forced 90-year ban on Native Hawaiian language and culture, Native Hawaiians experience a rapid decline in their language use and cultural knowledge. This is compounded by the precipitous socio-economic disparities, the shortage of curriculum and instruction materials, and access to reliable internet. This project will increase the community capacity of over 36,000 preschool children, teachers, parents, and partners by producing replicable educational materials in the community. Kūlaniākea will create a total of 28 educational boxes during the course of the project, each containing two educational materials from matching cards to games as well as a leaflet containing necessary Native Hawaiian lessons, vocabulary, and activities.