In 2022, we achieved several important milestones as a local non profit. We opened Hālau Nā Kama Kai at Pōkaʻī Bay for after-school services and ocean-based programming in October. The Hālau serves as a puʻuhonua, a safe, consistent gathering space for keiki in Waiʻanae. They are provided daily meals, access to tutoring, and training in ocean activities like swimming, surfing, paddling and sailing.

We also completed the restoration of Kūmau, our thirty foot sailing canoe. This waʻa will serve the keiki on the west side of Oʻahu providing a pathway to the polynesian voyaging society and a connection to the rich navigation history of our ancestors.

Since Nā Kama Kai was founded in 2008, we have worked to get ocean safety and stewardship education into our school classrooms. Hawaiʻi is an island state surrounded by the ocean and we feel that it’s our kuleana to keep our keiki ocean smart and ocean safe. Makaʻala Bay: Lessons from the Sea is now available for all keiki here and across the globe. The 5 episode animated series was produced to reach keiki outside of our in person programs. We will be using it as content for curriculum in our professional development course for teachers in partnership with the Hawaii Department of Education this fall.

We’ve had such great success in the broadcasting of our Paʻakai Awards reaching a worldwide audience and we are excited to continue this with Hawaii News Now. The virtual program and Paʻakai Awards will make its premiere on Saturday, September 30th, 6-7PM HST, live on KGMB, and streaming online at hawaiinewsnow.com, and on their social media platforms.  It will be re-broadcasted on October 1st on KHNL and October 2nd on K5. We are excited to honor Mac Poepoe as our Paʻakai awardee and Bonnie Kahapeʻa-Tanner as our Hoʻokele recipients for their impact on the stewardship of ‘āina and cultural-based work.

The night of storytelling and uplifting our Hawaiian values and future leaders promises to be entertaining and inspiring We will continue our online auction featuring unique art and one of a kind experiences. 100% of the proceeds from the show and online auction will go directly towards nurturing and engaging Hawaii’s youth to become more aware of the importance of ocean safety and stewardship.

The year ahead is pivotal to our success as we grow and scale Nā Kama Kai. We hope you will join us by supporting our Paʻakai Awards. We are excited to offer this year’s sponsors a dynamic opportunity to support our efforts while taking advantage of the impactful sponsorship benefits, including reaching an audience of over one million viewers.

As a nonprofit organization 501(c)(3) we are thankful to our volunteers and grateful for the tremendous support we continue to receive from private and governmental organizations. This support helps us to continue our mission to empower children by connecting our keiki to the kai and ‘āina to nurture a deeper sense of aloha and kuleana for the natural environment and themselves. We hope you will celebrate our 12th Annual Paʻakai Awards with us!