{"id":206080,"date":"2024-11-06T09:05:19","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T19:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=206080"},"modified":"2024-11-07T15:39:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T01:39:41","slug":"manoa-alum-helps-revive-olelo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/11\/06\/manoa-alum-helps-revive-olelo\/","title":{"rendered":"M\u0101noa alum helps revive \u02bb\u014dlelo, one keiki at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Rasmussen
Rasmussen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kealiʻi<\/span> Rasmussen, an ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a> (Hawaiian language) alumnus from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa, has turned his passion for ʻōlelo<\/span> into a mission for community impact. Raised in a Hawaiian language church, he recalls his t\u016bt\u016b (grandmother) speaking some Hawaiian words and phrases and grew to love the language.<\/p>\n

“It started off as an avenue to learn ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> the way our kūpuna (elders) did\u2014through oral teaching and communication,” Rasmussen said. “This led to me caring for keiki (children) at the same time and growing a deep connection.”<\/p>\n

What started as a three-year role in 2014 at a Pūnana Leo Hawaiian language immersion preschool evolved into a decade-long dedication to language education. Today, he is the head teacher of Pūnana Leo o Waiʻanae<\/span> (PLOW<\/abbr>), where he nurtures young Hawaiian speakers each day.<\/p>\n

Kuleana to nurture keiki<\/h2>\n

In spring 2024, Rasmussen earned a BA<\/abbr> in ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> from UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language<\/a> and a certificate in Hawaiian language medium early education from UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s Ka Haka ʻUla<\/span> ʻo<\/span> Keʻelikolani<\/span> College of Hawaiian Language<\/a>. He believes his studies have equipped him to meet the kuleana (responsibility) to young learners.<\/p>\n

“Knowing that you are adding to their success and helping their family grow in ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2026and when I run into them 10 years down the line, [I hope] that they remember me and the life lessons that I taught them, are successful and are carrying the ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> in their careers.”<\/p>\n

ʻŌlelo<\/span> opportunities, fundraiser<\/h2>\n

PLOW<\/abbr> is hosting Kāpahi Ka Moana I Kai, a free public fundraiser on Saturday, November 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Wai Kai in ʻEwa<\/span>. The event, designed to engage the broader community, will include live Hawaiian music, makahiki (harvest) games, ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> lessons, and more than 20 local vendors. Funds raised will help Pūnana Leo o Waiʻanae<\/span> enhance its language immersion programs, including classes for mākua (parents) to foster a Hawaiian-speaking home environment.<\/p>\n

Full circle path<\/h2>\n

Reflecting on his journey, Rasmussen feels grateful for his career, which helped him fulfill his dream of embracing the language of his ancestors.<\/p>\n

“When I first started Pūnana Leo o Waiʻanae<\/span> in 2014, I couldn’t ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> but being immersed and learning alongside of the keiki I was able to learn and speak.”<\/p>\n

For more go to Pūnana Leo O Waiʻanae<\/span> Instagram account<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kealiʻi<\/span> Rasmussen, a UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Hawaiian language alumnus, perpetuates ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> as the director of Pūnana Leo o Waiʻanae<\/span>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,1057,551,316,411,14,9],"class_list":["post-206080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-hawaiinuiakea-school-of-hawaiian-knowledge","tag-ka-haka-ula-o-keelikolani","tag-kawaihuelani-center-for-hawaiian-language","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206080"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206470,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206080\/revisions\/206470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}