{"id":144596,"date":"2021-07-05T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2021-07-05T18:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=144596"},"modified":"2021-07-02T15:37:27","modified_gmt":"2021-07-03T01:37:27","slug":"improve-health-wellbeing-native-hawaiian-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/07\/05\/improve-health-wellbeing-native-hawaiian-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"$2.85M<\/abbr> grant to improve health and well-being of Native Hawaiian youth"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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A $2.85 million U.S. Department of Education<\/a> Native Hawaiian education grant will support a program aimed at increasing the overall physical, mental and emotional health and well-being of Native Hawaiian youth.<\/p>\n

I Paʻa<\/span> Ka Huewai Pawehe, which translates to “so that our prized water gourds are made firm,” is a three-year University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa College of Education<\/a> program that will initiate, expand and improve the instruction and implementation of health education, physical education and physical activity through culturally relevant and trauma-informed teaching practices.<\/p>\n

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Erin E. Centeio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Associate Professor Erin E. Centeio<\/strong> of the Department of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Science<\/a> is the recipient of the grant.<\/p>\n

“This is an amazing opportunity to design and implement culturally relevant health and wellness programming that will bring important resources to our schools and the keiki that they serve,” Centeio said. “Especially given the last year and a half with COVID-19, we know that our youth need the support and knowledge to improve their social, emotional and physical well-being, and we can\u2019t wait to get started.”<\/p>\n

A collaborative effort<\/h2>\n
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Kuʻulei<\/span> Serna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Under the direction of Centeio and College of Education Institute for Teacher Education Elementary<\/a> Director Kuʻulei<\/span> Serna<\/strong>, I Paʻa<\/span> Ka Huewai Pawehe is a partnership between Â鶹´«Ã½M\u0101noa, the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Department of Education, the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Department of Health and Hip Hop Public Health.<\/p>\n

The program will strategically partner with 20 schools, spanning four complex areas, all with high populations of Native Hawaiian students.<\/p>\n

Serna, who serves as the health and trauma content expert, said “I am so excited to work with our partners and schools to provide intentional programming to support the health and well-being of some of our most vulnerable populations in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, more specifically school-aged youth and Native Hawaiians.”<\/p>\n

There are four components of I Paʻa<\/span> Ka Huewai Pawehe:<\/p>\n