Some keiki on Oʻahu's west side are leaving the first half of the school year as stronger swimmers than they were at the start.
A partnership between the state Department of Education and Nā Kama Kai, a nonprofit educating keiki on how to connect and respect the ʻāina and ocean, is teaching swimming skills, ocean safety, and the basics of wayfinding.
The partnership started this year with a group of about 450 fourth graders from the six public schools in the Nānākuli-Waiʻanae Complex Area. The students participated in person over the course of a week and completed pre- and post-assessments to assess their growth in knowledge and skills.
“My hope is that we can support all of our children in learning water safety, how to swim, and how to read the ocean so that they learn from the ocean how to respect it, never to turn your back on it, how to watch the sets coming in so you can predict when it’s safe to do something and when it’s not safe to do something,” said Disa Hauge, the complex area superintendent.
Program leaders noted that there is little to no access to public pools in West Oʻahu, leaving keiki to rely on the ocean to learn their swimming skills, which can be daunting or dangerous.
Organizers noted this is a step toward boosting ocean safety skills across the state, as drowning remains the leading cause of death for Hawaiʻi keiki between the ages of 1 and 15 years old.
Matt Kauwe, the chief operations officer at Nā Kama Kai, noted how integral ocean knowledge is in Hawaiian ancestry and culture.
“Our ancestors were very connected to what it meant to live in harmony with the ocean, with the land and the mountains,” Kauwe said. “There's such a rich history of ocean knowledge that it is, it would be a huge failure on our part if we didn't share that with the next generation.”
The program is still in the pilot phase, but organizers hope to expand the services to all ages and locations.
