The Opportunity for Youth Action Hawaiʻi (OYAH) Hui recently welcomed the 2025 Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) to Kupa ʻAina farm for a day of mālama ʻāina (caring for the land), building pilina (connection), and learning about the various organizations that make up the Kawailoa campus community.
The YSEALI fellows spent most of their time working alongside the Kupa ‘Aina team, mulching around the farm, chopping down banana trees, and contributing their positive energy to the farm. Their uplifting spirits and teamwork filled the space with unity, laughter, and purpose – reminding everyone that mālama ʻāina is as much about community as it is about stewardship.
“I feel fulfilled because I can give my impact to the land and feel the connection. We’re not only planting, but we also plant our heart here.”
Lufa, YSEALI Fellow at East-West Center
After a full day of hard work, representatives from Kinai ‘Eha, RYSE, and Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility joined the YSEALI fellows at Kupa ‘Aina and shared how their programs support healing and reintegration for Hawaiʻi’s youth at the Kawailoa campus.
The East-West Center hosts the YSEALI Academic Fellowship on Natural Resources, and designs these experiences to strengthen leadership and cultural understanding among young professionals from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The fellowship immerses participants in regional and global challenges, while fostering deep interpersonal ties between countries.
“Over a decade ago, I attended a powerful performance by women from WCC that revealed the potential of healing through storytelling. It was a very powerful performance, and I learned about Mark Patterson’s vision to reform our criminal justice system from a Western punishment model to a healing journey using influences from the past and creating a puʻuhonua (place of refuge, sanctuary).
It is difficult to translate the vision of Kupa ‘Aina and Kawailoa in words, and fortunately we can come to experience it and physically get our hands dirty. I wanted to get them (fellows) to question what we need as young people and perhaps who could benefit from these opportunities. Even though we are only here a couple weeks, this experience really plants a seed in them that they can bring back home, and hopefully think about what healing and justice means in a new light.”
Lance Boyd, Senior Experiential Leadership Education Specialist at the East West Center, Academic Director of Fellowship on Natural Resources
This visit to Kupa ‘Aina marked the fellowship program’s second time volunteering on the farm, and it was just as productive and meaningful as the first. Mahalo to the YSEALI program, Kupa ʻAina team, and OYAH Hui for creating a welcoming space for new friendships, shared learning, and continued growth in caring for our land and one another. Through collective action and shared learning, we continue to cultivate our land and bonds as a global community.