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September 10, 2005 Ha‘ilono staff webnews

Ho`okahua Office to promote Hawaiian way of living

The Kamehameha Schools' Ho`okahua office for Hawaiian cultural development is brand new but its staff members are old hands.

Former Kapalama High School Performing Arts Head Randie Fong was selected to be Ho`okahua's director in January 2005. Since then, he has been putting together his team which consists of two cultural specialists, Ku`ualohanui Kauli`a (previously a Maui Campus Hawaiian culture teacher and protocol facilitator) and Kehau Abad (formerly a Kapalama Campus Hawaiian history teacher), and an administrative coordinator, Suzanne Zablan (previously an administrative assistant with Early Childhood Education).

Kamehameha Schools' Ho‘okahua office for Hawaiian cultural development, (l to r): Ku`ualohanui Kauli`a, Suzanne Zablan, Randie Fong, and Kehau Abad.
Ho`okahua comes under the Office of the CEO. One of its prioity tasks is facilitating and initiating efforts to foster nohona Hawai`i throughout the Kamehameha system. Nohona Hawai`i, a Hawaiian way of life, focuses on people – people living, interacting, and experiencing the world around them with Hawaiian approaches and perspectives.

Beginning October 17, Ho`okahua will be holding sessions on nohona Hawai`i systemwide for staff. Brochures will be sent by A-A1distribution. For more information, please call Suzanne Zablan at 534-3801.

What does Ho`okahua mean?

Kahua are community places. In times past, some were open, leveled fields. Other kahua were stone platform foundations upon which thatched structures were built. A community came together to establish kahua. Wonderful things happened upon kahua. People came together to celebrate, to engage in sports, to participate in formal ceremonies, to worship, to console one another – to come together as a family.

Over the decades, many have gathered stones and pioneered the effort to establish Hawaiian cultural foundations for our school. Today the entire organization continues that legacy. The name Ho`okahua (to create a foundation) embodies the spirit of our community to continue to create those cultural foundations necessary to improve the capability and well-being of the Hawaiian people.