Parents gathered to hear Wally Lau, Director of the Neighborhood Place, talk about Hawaiian Values and how they relate to parenting. Wally began by relating the family to the traditional ahupuaa. He said that not only does the culture have values, but also the family within the culture has values.

Wally first talked about pono, “to be right” or correct. This is a very personal individual thing and only you yourself will know if you are pono or “right on the inside.” He related this to parents as their children’s first teachers and how it is important to be clear about how and what you want to teach your children. He stressed the importance of teaching coming from a place of being pono. He likened this to polluting the stream of the ahupuaa as its source, which will then contaminate everything that it feeds.

The second value presented was ho`omnana, or spirituality. He asked the group, “Where is the spirituality in your life?’ He discussed that spirituality can be shared with your children.

Malama, “to care”; malama o ke ola, to care for all life was another concept important to pass onto children. It can be as simple as teaching them to pick up trash. He told how we never hit anyone in the head because that is where the knowledge and power of the mana enters the body. He told of two forms of mana, personal power and the mana from the ancestors. He said that the latter was the most powerful. By stressing this value, families can break the cycle in their family culture of not being pono. He talked of how small children learn by observing the parents example of malama. During the discussion, he honored the other cultures represented by asking what the word was for malama in their culture.

The last concept was that of ha, or the breath of life, which comes from the deepest part of your naau. Ask yourself, what kind of ha do you want to give your children? He demonstrated the traditional greeting of exchanging ha.

Wally was quite amazing, as the children were under his feet throughout the entire presentation, and he was never distracted. Afterwards, Pili Kalele, formerly of FSSWH, demonstrated how very young children can respond to music. Lunch was served and everyone had a wonderful time.

Linkages to Learning, the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, hosted their sixth annual family celebration and graduation for three, four, and five year old children. Home Visitors, parents, and children were recognized for their dedication and support of the program

The Linkages to Learning Program builds on the basic bond between parents and children. Supported by easy-to-use activity packets, home visits, and group meetings, LTL parents learn how to prepare their children for success in school and beyond.

This program is available to families that live in the Kealakehe or Kahakai School areas.

For more information or to enroll please contact Shannon Ramirez at 329-7773 ext. 111.

The Home Instruction Program For Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) and The National Service Corporation’s Americorps created a partnership called HIPPYCorps that provides a wonderful service and educational opportunity for parents in the HIPPY program.

HIPPY is an internationally successful early education program that targets parents in order to break the cycle of educational limitations by increasing the chances of successful early school experience among their children. HIPPY parents receive 30 weeks of home visits and group meetings each year that provide information and support for their role as their child’s first teacher.

HIPPY USA’s partnership with Americorps allows HIPPY Home Visitors, who are themselves parents in HIPPY, to provide this support to other parents as a community service. Members receive on the job training and educational opportunities during their HIPPY service and earn National Service educational awards for their contribution. A member may remain in the program for two years, earning over $4,700 to be used towards their continuing education or for repaying already existing college loans.

Hawaii HIPPYCorps held its Second Annual Regional Training Conference at the Aston Keauhou Beach Hotel on Friday, May 4. The conference, organized by Hawaii State Contact and HIPPYCorps Program Director, JoAnn Bishop Freed and Lori Wilson, Program Assistant brought HIPPY Corps members from Family Support Services of West Hawaii’s Linkages To Learning Program coordinated by Shannon Ramirez together with members from Parents and Children Together’s (PACT) Kaneohe Family Center HIPPY Program coordinated by Valsey Freitas.

Carla Marie Weir, a National HIPPY Trainer and the Director of the Texas HIPPY Center for Training and Technical Assistance led the full day training conference. Carla has been involved in HIPPY for nearly 15 years as a parent, a HIPPY Coordinator and a trainer for HIPPY USA. The training provided to the HIPPYCorps members included Child Growth and Development, Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Education and Goal Setting for “Life After HIPPYCorps.” This last workshop provided the opportunity for current HIPPYCorps members to examine their own educational goals for the future and to learn of the resources and supports available to them throughout the state in order to achieve those goals. As Lori Casuga, a Big Island HIPPYCorp member said, “Who would have thought that I would have a ‘job’ where I got to help parents and children learn, have fun and earn money for my college education all at the same time. I love my job!

The main thing is that we have provided a record number of services to children and families in West Hawaii. We will do an annual report in August that will detail these accomplishments but at a glance, it appears that FSSWH has strongly carried out our mission “ supporting families and communities in providing love and care for our children”. You have partnered with us to make this possible!

FSSWH has added services which means added staff therefore we’ve taken a hard look at expanding our space to better serve our families. In Kau’, we now have a somewhat larger and certainly a better family center for our base of operation in that area. In Waimea, we have moved into a much larger office space so that we can offer a full range of FSSWH services. These include Early Childhood Intervention, Healthy Start, Early Headstart, Comprehensive Child Welfare Services, and Youth Services. In Kona, FSSWH is in the process of consolidating our services and central office by moving into a much more adequate space that is located at 75-127 Lunapule Rd. In addition, we are working hard at developing more effective management information systems and streamlining our budgeting and reporting systems so that we can become even more efficient. These moves and upgrades are simply improvements to allow the FSSWH staff to spend more time and energy with the families in our communities.

Stay tuned! FSSWH fully intends to continue work on best practices and to find even more effective ways to partner with families and communities. We also are committed to listening carefully to our families and communities so that we can be in the right place, at the right time with actions that are truly wanted and needed. This is only possible if you, our supporters, continue to partner with us in this commitment to West Hawaii families and communities.

Mahalo!
Don Bebee

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Hawaii presented a check in the amount of $5,000 to Family Support Services of West Hawaii (FSSWH) at its Board Meeting on Tuesday, April 24, 2001. The monies will be utilized to support the Universal Home Visitation Program that is aimed at providing first time parents with extra support and an opportunity to link to community services through a home visit within two weeks of their baby’s birth. If the family is in need of crisis intervention or a more intensive home visitation program for prevention of child abuse and neglect or in need of support of developmental needs of the child, this initial home visit offers an opportunity for the home visitor to refer the family to those programs immediately. FSSWH has been helping families grow up healthy since 1979.

For more information about Family Support Services of West Hawaii programs and services, or the volunteer or make a donations, please call Barbara at 326-7778 ext 115.

Create a Living Legacy is a public awareness initiative created to encourage people to name a favorite charity as a beneficiary in their will, trust or other estate planning arrangements. Family Support Services of West Hawaii has joined with other Big Island non-profit organizations in this collaboration. Have you stopped to consider the essential role charitable non-profit organizations play in our daily lives on the Big Island? Health agencies, human service organizations, churches, educational institutions, civic and cultural associations, environmental groups, neighborhood associations … all contribute every day to the quality of our lives and the lives of those we love.

In order to survive and thrive, non-profit organizations need a stable funding base. Today, many organizations operate on a year-to-year basis in a precarious economic environment. Annual support from individuals, corporations, government agencies, and foundations varies and is unpredictable. There is a growing need to develop alternative sources of income. Legacy gifts from individual donors through wills and trust are a promising option.

The aim of this initiative is to create a new ethic of charitable giving and to educate the public about the benefits of supporting non-profit organizations through bequests. If you would like more information about Leave a Living Legacy initiative, or would like to make a bequest to FSSWH, please call Barbara at 326-7778.