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Student living abroad connects to culture through Explorations By Cheryl Corbiell
Last year, my eyes were opened to how people polluting the land and ocean halfway around the world can impact people in Hawai‘i. Not all countries believe in recycling and conservation.”
W
ith 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 international participants. “We’ve noticed Native 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 Michelle Barte, education specialist in KS’s Hawaiian Culture-Based Education Department. “All students have their Native Hawaiian
Nalei Phillips. - Courtesy: Kamehameha Schools
— Nalei Phillips
ancestry verified.” The Explorations Series comprises three one-week summer boarding programs held at 13 locations statewide. The programs – called Ho‘omäka‘ika‘i, Ho‘olauna and Külia 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 economic 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 ocean halfway around the world can impact people
‘aukake2014 13 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 küpuna within specific 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 explorations on page 21
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