"Kuʻu Home" A Message of Healing from the ʻŌpio of Lāhaina

In February Ka Hale Hoaka was invited by the Office of Hawaiian Education to fly in from Molokaʻi to teach Lahainaluna Immersion Students. Kumu Kauʻi, the immersion teacher there has been a long-time hoa(friend) of ours. She shared that since the keiki returned to school months after the fire she no longer heard them singing as they once did. It was common for these immersion kids to sing all the time, the silence was deafening. Kauʻi expressed that she wanted their voices to return and we were more than honored to work alongside her to make it happen. We pitched an idea to do a mele 4 part workshop where we would fly into Maui and spend the day in their lumi papa(classroom). In these workshops, we explored the power of mele, composed together, told their stories, and expressed their emotions, and deep love for their home Lahaina. The journey of healing and the power of music was undeniable throughout the process. The project culminated with a 4-day trip to Molokaʻi hosted by Hui o Kuapā. On Molokaʻi, they worked in the fishpond, ate food from the ʻāina, took a school bus night cruise to get Molokaʻi Hot Bread, played a lot(since there was no reception!), and recorded their song with Kahale Naehu-Ramos in our humble studio at Ka Hale Hoaka. The best part is that they stayed up every night jamming on their ʻukulele and singing for hours!!!! Through the voices and stories of the haumāna at Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Lahainaluna and kōkua from the Office of Hawaiian Education, Kumu Kauʻi Spitalsky, Ka Hale Hoaka, Hui o Kuapā, Hawaiʻi Peopleʻs Fund, Maile Naehu, Hanohano Naehu, Kahale Naehu-Ramos, and Kapali Keahi of Lahaina Grown, a mele was born.
This is their mele, this is their voice. E mele , e mele mau nō!
Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Lahainaluna presents
Kuʻu Home🌈
Available on all music platforms and RUclips to stream and download!
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Check out Hui o Kuapā at / @huiokuapamolokai