It’s a kākou-we thing!

Nā Mea ʻIke ʻIa (NMII) - The Things Experienced, is a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to youth development through a structured Native Hawaiian approach, since February 24, 2017, EIN # 82-0746141. Our mission is to impact the youth to achieve personal ‘Excellence in Life’ through programs of leadership development, Native Hawaiian culture, Honor Guard activities, community service, and career pathway development.

Our vision is that Nā Mea ʻIke ʻIa will develop generations of self-dependent successful youth, thriving in their passions, achieving personal excellence, and positively impacting others. From 2018-2021 we will pilot and develop our youth personal excellence model-Kūpono Ke Ola through the Royal Hawaiian Guard (RHG) program - NMII’s youth development and Honor Guard program.

By year 2021 we seek the following outcomes: 1. Provide merit to Kūpono Ke Ola as a proven youth personal excellence model that can be expanded into schools from 5th-12th grade; 2. Provide an Honor Guard and Drill Team that is reflective of Hawaiʻi’s diverse community and representative of the Native Hawaiian culture and history; 3. Develop a strong Hui Kūpono with a Kupuna-Elder Council that will guide the NMII leadership and assist Guards with nurturing the development of opio-youth.

.

The RHG program and Kūpono Ke Ola model shall support the efforts of the Hawaiʻi Department of Education (HIDOE) Ends 3 (E3) policy - Outcomes Nā Hopena Aʻo, Hā framework and Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program. The model will be built on positive psychology, science of happiness, youth resilience studies, military science, and waiwai-values of NMII. Empirical data shall be collected to understand and apply best practices for expansion to non-JROTC schools. Key to viability is that our model fosters teamwork to create a “Hui Kūpono” - a group of youth, families, kupuna-community elders, volunteers, and supporters driven to impact the youth to achieve personal excellence in life. Kūpono Ke Ola shall serve as the philosophy of How and Why we work.

Our approach to address youth excellence mirror the mission and goals of the JROTC program. A partnership between NMII & JROTC will enhance our mission and vision to impact youth while assisting JROTC in enhancing military-style drill in Hawaiʻi and aiding it to reach the HIDOE E3 Nā Hopena Aʻo, Hā framework.

NMII looks to be a community partner to impact our youth to excellence. We come humbly before each moku-district with an understanding that every moku is diverse by culture, people, and need; that each moku has treasured kupuna-elders who can contribute and be a powerful agent of change; that everyone has a part to play with our youth reaching personal excellence… ʻAʻohe pau ka ʻike i ka hālau hoʻokahi - All knowledge is not learned in just one school