GUEST BLOG: Kaukau 4 Keiki Project by Laʻakea Judd, UH-Hilo Ka Pouhana Peer Mentor
Kaukau 4 Keiki Project
Nourishing Minds, and Empowering Communities
This guest blog post was written by Laʻakea Judd, a Peer Mentor for UH Hilo’s Ka Pouhana program.* All photos courtesy of Ka Pouhana.
Ka Pouhana leaders receiving produce box deliveries.
Amidst the busy summer bustle, dedicated students from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s Ka Pouhana Program spent six weeks leading a community project for Hilo families. The Kaukau 4 Keiki is a Hawaiʻi Island summer food project organized and sponsored by Vibrant Hawaiʻi. Through the Department of Education's Hawaiʻi Child Nutrition Program, the project ensures access to nutritious meals during the Summer and for the volunteers, an opportunity to engage with the community.
The Ka Pouhana crew packing bags.
The Kaukau 4 Keiki project had over 30 pick up sites on Hawaiʻi Island, and our Ka Pouhana Mentoring Program took the lead at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo site. We organized and led the meal bag assembly and distribution for 500 keiki. As one of our site leaders, I oversaw, and managed the day-to-day operations of our pick-up-site. Along with a number of volunteers, we assembled 500 bags of produce and shelf-stable food items every Monday for 6 weeks. The many hours that were spent sweating, putting together bags, coordinating volunteers, and much more, led me to recognize that this project was more than providing food: it was an opportunity building strong connections with the members of my community, to foster a sense of unity, and collective responsibility toward our shared goal of nurturing the well-being of our keiki.
The Kaukau 4 Keiki Project has had a profound impact on our community, touching the lives of many children and their ʻohana. For me personally, this summer food distribution program touched my heart and has changed my perspective on what it means to be a community. A community is built around the men and women who delegate their time and energy into helping others. I experienced that first hand over the summer. Beyond the immediate nutritional benefits, the project provided me an opportunity to interact with my community and directly support families in my area. It was amazing to see different families, volunteers, campus staff, and members of the community united as one ʻohana, working together to directly affect the lives of families, and their keiki within our community.
Ka Pouhana and community volunteers loading a vehicle with produce and shelf-stable foods.
Kaukau 4 Keiki revitalized community spirit by bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds to collaborate and contribute to a shared cause. That is powerful. It is powerful that there are individuals from all backgrounds, who willingly give up their time, energy, money and effort into helping the younger generation and other members of our Hawaii island communities. When I observed families picking up their boxes of fresh produce and bags of food, I saw the keiki excited for the food boxes. What we do and say matters; especially in the eyes of a child.
The Kaukau 4 Keiki Project stands as a shining example of how community-driven initiatives can holistically address some of the challenges in our community like food instability. As a site leader, I am honored to have played a role in fostering positive change and contributing to the transformation of our community through the power of compassion, unity, and unwavering commitment to our keiki.
*Ka Pouhana is a student-designed and student-led leadership development program, where student mentors team up with faculty members to support local Hawaiʻi Island students as they transition to UH Hilo. The program is located in the UH Hilo Center for Place-Based Socioemotional Development (Hilo Center). For more information: https://hilo.hawaii.edu/affiliates/hilo-center/
Hōkūpaʻa is proud to share this article by youth taking action with their community, and we were also glad to volunteer under their leadership.
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