“We have four generations living on one property. From a one-year-old to an eighty-seven-year- old, there’s 18 of us under one roof,” she shared. 

Multigenerational homes are common in Hawaiʻi, and for some neighboring island communities where access to resources and services aren’t always readily available, having a Covid-19 outbreak at home could be life-threatening. 

In an effort to bridge the gap, PIDF kickstarted Hoʻopalekana Ola (to strengthen and defend life), an initiative through the Department of Health’s Hawaiʻi Pacific Health Institute (HIPHI) Cares Grant. Once the grant was contracted, the Hoʻopalekana Ola team wasted no time.

“PIDF has never been afraid to jump to the frontline of our community’s needs. In our 25 years, we have served over 128,000 family members in more than 50 communities. Where there is a call for support, we try to respond to our lāhui however best we can,” said Shawn Kanaʻiaupuni, PIDF President and CEO.  

Hoʻopalekana Ola HIPHI Cares Program Manager, Perlas Bardouche, previously managed the Open Arms Harbor Isolation-quarantine facility that PIDF opened during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020 through March of 2021. She is supported by team members with vast experience in health care. 

When the HIPHI contracted team began its outreach efforts, the recent Covid-19 outbreak on Molokaʻi seemed like the right place to start. Hoʻopalekana Ola partnered with Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool to set up booths at the Molokaʻi Island Foundation’s Molokaʻi Drug-Free Movement event, which hosted local vendors and speakers to share more about their community-strengthening stories, services and programming.

During the event, Hoʻopalekana Ola met with local residents, distributed hundreds of free at-home Covid-19 test kits, provided safety guidelines and resources, and shared more about upcoming education programs like the Global Biorisk Advisory Council certification, a course to prepare for, respond to and recover from biohazards in our community spaces.

The Hoʻopalekana Ola team also connected with members at the Molokaʻi General Hospital, Molokaʻi Community Health Center, and local retailers. They were greeted by smiles as residents recognized PIDFʻs kalo logo.

“Are you with Tūtū and Me?” The Molokaʻi residents asked, and shared stories about attending Tūtū and Me or the people they knew (if not themselves!) who worked with Tūtū and Me. 

The small-town island community has been home to a Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool for over 15 years. Hoʻopalekana Ola is partnering with other PIDF programs like Tūtū and Me and Ka Paʻalana that serve neighbor island communities and are trusted by their local residents, many of whom live in multi-generational homes. 

For households with ʻohana ranging from keiki to kūpuna, access to Covid-19 at-home test kits and knowledge about infectious disease control, and knowing what to do when someone at home is exposed or tests positive, will prepare families and save lives. 

While society at large transitions into a post-pandemic world, rural communities are vulnerable to the detrimental impacts of Covid-19 with fewer medical resources, hospital beds, and physicians. 

“Coronavirus is here to stay, so we’re committed to helping our communities navigate in the safest and healthiest way. We want our ʻohana to survive and thrive,” said Bardouche. 

That’s why PIDF is committed to strengthening ʻohana and to seeing that our communities are healthy and sustainable.

Watch the discussion with Nāʻālehu Anthony, Director of COVID Pau, Juanita Nalani Benioni, of the Center for Native Hawaiian Traditional Healing at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and Dr. Gerard Akaka, V.P. of Native Hawaiian Affairs & Clinical Support at Queen’s Health Systems Internal Medicine.

Watch the entire discussion here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/civilcafenovember

For more Covid related resources and information, go to pidf.org/covidresponse

Your Waianae Boat Harbor team has been on top of their game! Every week setting up a zoom class, delivering our kōkua kits and going out of their way to deliver farm produce boxes. It really gives me and my son something to look forward to each week, said Kalia, a Ka Paʻalana parent.

While the enrollment process has not changed and continues year-round, Ka Paʻalana recognized that many more families are in need of assistance. Any ʻohana that is interested, even those who live on the mainland, may now join the program. The program’s priority remains for at-risk, vulnerable families experiencing lack of housing with keiki birth through five.

At the beginning of the pandemic virtual attendance was pretty low. So, the Ka Paʻalana team persisted in encouraging ʻohana to join in on the virtual fun. The team works to wipe away the fear and embarrassment parents might have not knowing how to log on, understand the software, not having access to the technology, or being concerned about their keiki looking presentable on screen.

Ka Paʻalana navigated their community through the uncertainty, assuring them that connecting online is just as safe a space as it is in person. Ka Paʻalana also prepares and distributes many other supplemental materials and services:

• Wifi on Wheels: van that provides a 100- to 200-foot network range to connect social distancing keiki with their virtual schools on the Leeward side of Oʻahu.
  • Monday-Friday, 8:30a.m.- 11a.m., US Vets Paiolu Kaiaulu Shelter
  • Monday-Friday, 12p.m.-2p.m., Kauiokalani Housing Complex parking lot
• Class Dojo: an app that allows keiki to log in at any time, providing flexibility for parents and caregivers with multiple children per household
• Kōkua kits: upgraded to now include 10 lesson plans and independent learning activities per week that can be done alongside Class Dojo. Pick up, mailed, or no-contact drop off on Mondays.
• Zoom: 30-minute to hour-long live classes that allow keiki and ʻohana to stop what they’re doing and focus on each other. One-on-one classes with teachers and home visiting is also available.
• Food: donations from partners like Aloun farms, Costco canned goods, Ham Produce and Seafood, and Chef Hui Hawaiʻi are coupled with kōkua kits as much as possible, but dates may vary.
• Clothes: clean keiki clothes and diapers available for no-contact drop-offs

While the team seems like they work nonstop, Ka Paʻalana is always looking for ways to improve. Feedback from paper surveys handed out during distributions or from online sessions have helped the team cater their services and donations to meet the needs of the ʻohana during this time of the pandemic.

If you’d like to help and support Ka Paʻalana, they are happy to accept donations as simple as headphones for keiki who have to take classes with large ʻohana in small spaces. Other items like hygiene products, ie., diapers, wipes, towels, and blankets or batteries and power back ups for electronics are always in need. For more information, contact us!