Ke Kama Pono: Pualele

Ke Kama Pono, a Safehouse for adjudicated male youth ages thirteen to seventeen, serves up to twelve youth at a time for a period of no less than six months. One of the goals of the program is to support the development and integration of critical life skills necessary for long-term success. They are tasked with projects using the Hawaiian culture as a framework, to build and foster the core values that Partners in Development Foundation instills in their clients and staff. Dr. Michael Kahue, Program Director for Ke Kama Pono, saw an immediate shift in the attitudes of the boys when they found out they would have an opportunity to work on an outrigger canoe.

“The norm is usually they hear about a project and are so gung-ho about it. ‘Oh yeah, let’s do it!’ Then after a month or two goes by, they lose that spark and there’s the drop off. With this one (the canoe, wa‘a project) for some reason, I noticed there was no drop off. The boys were definitely inspired to be around this massive canoe.”

Ke Kama Pono was tasked with the restoration of the wa‘a, Pualele. Every Tuesday, they would meet with Mr. Jay Dowsett, a master wa‘a builder, to learn from him and work on the canoe. They began the tiring task of sanding and applying fiberglass, followed by more sanding. The boys weren’t thrilled about this process at first, but as they saw the pieces come together, they began to take extra care in their work.

The boys worked on every aspect of the wa‘a, including the colors as well as each boy putting his own design that represents himself and his story. Although the completion of this project would extend past their residency term, the Ke Kama Pono program offered them a chance to see it through to the end.

“Our thing for the boys is they can always come back, even though they complete the program and get discharged. They are always welcomed back when this canoe is ready and seaworthy. And they felt like, ‘Okay, I am willing to go the extra mile for this.’”