‘OHANA LITERACY PROJECT
Instilling a love of reading from an early age in KKV’s ʻOhana Play and Learn Room
One of the driving principles of KKV’s Family Strengthening Program is the belief that the success of the whole family is integral to the healthy growth and development of a child. With children ages 18 and under making up 35% of KKV’s patients, one of the main goals of our Maternal Child Health (MCH) department is to support family members in building stronger relationships within the whole household and to assist parents by providing resources that will help nurture and prepare their kids for a bright future.
From L to R: Jason Huynh (medical student), Christina Tse (medical student), Arlene Kiyohara (medical student), Dr. Barbora Kadecka (pediatric resident), Dr Alicia Turlington (pediatrician)
In order to foster reading and literacy at home and in the wider community, MCH enlists the help of KKV’s Medical, Dental, Behavioral Health and WIC staff and with their collaboration, they provide reading education and free, age-appropriate books during clinical visits with the intent of making literacy education a standard part of pediatric primary care.
“We are so grateful for our collaboration with Dr. Turlington and her medical staff who have supported us tremendously by distributing supplies for families to utilize and share with others. To have so much support around us motivates us to be the voice of our community even down to the materials that we share.” -Family Strengthening staff
Family literacy is key in children’s early language and literacy development. A family’s culture, beliefs, and traditions also influences how children use words to communicate as they navigate the world around them. MCH created the ʻOhana Literacy Project to engage families in promoting literacy skills in ways that are not only suitable for the child’s developmental age and stage, but are culturally responsive as well.
The Family Strengthening Program has supplied medical providers with thousands of books and hundreds of activity packs. Often the team also provides parents with diapers and other supplies needed at home.
Before the COVID pandemic, ʻOhana Play and Learn (OPL) was a family room onsite at the KKV medical clinic, set-up like an early childhood classroom with age-appropriate books, puzzles, and educational toys.
When the OPL had to close due to the pandemic, KKV staff took a “Mobile OPL” out in the community going door-to-door to share information and drop off Grab-n-Go “Literacy bags” with COVID-19 educational resources and developmentally appropriate books and children’s activities. Part of these tools include “Literacy Recipes” to address questions from inquisitive parents who desire to learn about parenting topics such as: bedtime routines, how many hours should a child be sleeping, and how to transition activities (for example, how to transition a child from story time to sleep time). These “recipes” foster creative thinking, prepare children socially and emotionally, and enhance fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Bilingual parents have found them helpful and continue to request new topics, as they familiarize themselves with the English language and build their self-confidence.
The KKV Family Strengthening Team at Kaluaopalena Garden engaging families in activities like reading, drawing, art projects, singing and dancing.
As KKV staff promote and model nurturing behaviors, including reading aloud with children, in clinic, waiting areas, and community programs, they guide parent literacy educators and families in doing the same at home. By building this community-based literacy capacity, Kalihi families feel empowered to support their children’s healthy socio-emotional and cognitive development, and with this foundation of love and connection, Kalihi’s children are better equipped to flourish and thrive.
A father and daughter sharing some special story time.
“Working closely with Barbora who initiated the fundraiser with Bess Press allowed us to provide culturally relevant children's books in our keiki's native languages! This has built such strong community and staff relationships in which families have felt the most supported since the pandemic. We look forward to continue helping our families together!" -Family Strengthening Staff
KKV is grateful to Bess Press and Da Shop in Honolulu for their generous support of this project. Last November, KKV pediatric resident Dr. Barbora Kadecka and the medical student team collaborated with Bess Press and Da Shop to host a “Books for KKV Keiki” fundraising event. Over a 1,000 books were donated and purchased with the money raised to augment grant funds, allowing the ‘Ohana Literacy Project to provide even more culturally relevant books in a variety of Pacific Islander languages to KKV families.
Check out the Bess Press website here.
