Malama I Na Pua

* Calendar * MINP Registration Form *MINP Participation Waiver *Vision *Mission *Description *Malama I Na Pua Crew

Vision:

A healthy Hawaiian community.

Mission:

To educate our keiki to make healthier choices a part of their life.

Description:

Malama I Na Pua is a health and wellness program for Native Hawaiian youth who attend Hawaiian Language charter schools on the island of Kaua`i. The purpose of the Malama I Na Pua program is to raise health awareness and provide the tools needed to make healthy lifestyle choices.

The Malama I Na Pua staff services students monthly and offers a variety of olakino (health) classes and ho`oikaika kino (exercise) classes. Currently, Malama I Na Pua services Kula Niihau o Kekaha, Kawaikini Charter School and Punana Leo o Kaua`i. There are approximately 140 students in the program.

Malama I Na Pua Crew:

Anna Kaleionalani Velasco, Program Coordinator

Kumu Kalei loves children and has been teaching them for the past 20 years. She started as a kumu in the Hawaiian Studies Program in the DOE and joined HLH in 2005. She is a certified fitness instructor with the American Council on Exercise. The knowledge she gained on her own personal journey to health and wellness has fueled her passion to help reduce the plague of childhood obesity. Anna enjoys giving children the skills they need to make healthy lifestyle choices.

Lisa Noelani Abell,

Malama I Na Pua Instructor

Kumu Noe was born and raised on Kauai and is a graduate of Kapaa High School. She is a native Hawaiian and loves her culture, people and especially the island of Kaua`i. She loves teaching ho`oikaika kino (fitness) classes at each of the Hawaiian Language Charter Schools that we serve. She connects with our keiki because they know she cares about each one of them.

Amber Kalikolehua Mokuahi, Malama I Na Pua Instructor

Kumu Kaliko has been studying Hawaiian language for the past 17 years. Her ability to `olelo Hawai`i has allowed her to learn so much from native Hawaiian kupuna who only speak Hawaiian. She feels a deep connection to her Hawaiian ancestors through the language. Kaliko earned a B.A. in elementary education from the University of Hawaii with an emphasis in Hawaiian Language. She started her teaching career at Anuenue Hawaiian Immersion School on O`ahu. After moving to Kaua`i, she started at HLH as a translator. There she saw the need for some healthy lifestyle intervention in our native Hawaiian keiki and was part of the team that created the Malama I Na Pua Program.