ʻOAKA's series of Resilience Academies was a great success! Throughout June and July, our 'OAKA team visited the districts of Puna, Hilo, Hāmākua and North Kohala - reaching a total of 40 ʻōpio.
Resilience Academies are a 3-day workshop series designed to prepare youth with essential skills for navigating challenges and fostering community resilience by equipping them with knowledge and confidence to navigate and thrive in the face of various challenges: from personal and peer distress to natural disasters and medical emergencies.
With the goal of building community resilience through our Hubs, Resilience Alliance and Resilience Registry, we recognize the importance of investing in our island's youth. Growing resilience at an early age builds the solid foundation to feel confident and ready when faced with adverse situations. Resilience Academies build youth awareness and demonstrate that we each hold value and can contribute in times of crisis.
Here is a recap of our North Kohala Resilience Academy:
"I continue to learn from our partners from the Hawaiʻi Fire Department, Community Police, and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency. Their experience and expertise have been invaluable in helping our youth and young adults build awareness, develop skills, and form new relationships with some of our community’s key contributors." - Amylia-Rae Gandolf, ʻOAKA Coordinator
As the North Kohala Resilience Academy took place, a power outage in the area provided the ʻOAKA team and participants with the opportunity to utilize solar generators and Starlink satellites to provide WIFI and electricity to keep the Academy running. Using the resources and tools they already had, they were able to push through, despite these unforeseen issues. This real life experience seamlessly tied in with what can happen when community works together to move forward. Embracing challenge as a catalyst for growth exemplifies the core purpose of these Academies.
“Having a chance to get connected with Kohala was an amazing experience. The kids were great, and already knew so much about disaster preparation. We were honored to give back to these communities by providing them with tools, knowledge and experience in disaster/emergency situations, as well as build off their personal knowledge. At the end of it, one of the kids had said: ‘If we had an emergency right now, I think my friends and I would be able to react and help out." - Trevondrick Francis, Fall 2023 Ambassador
Mahalo nui to the Hawaiʻi Fire Department and former Deputy Chief Lance Uchida, Community Police, Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency, Makapala Retreat Center, Hāmākua-Kohala Health Center, Hilo Medical Center, Joy Honstine: Sources of Strength, County of Hawaiʻi Parks and Recreation and Scott Oune: Hilo Teen Scene Summer Program, Roger Weiss: Hawaiʻi Island Psychological Association, Cindi Preller: Pacific Tsunami Museum, Kathy Matsuda: Kohala Resilience Hub, Leilani Luiz: PHIS Community Schools Coordinator, and everyone who gave their time to support the cultivation of resilience and growth among the ʻōpio of Hawaiʻi.
To learn more about ʻOAKA, click HERE.
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