Pacific Voices’ New Community Coordinator
Paulina Seiola Perman, KKV’s new Pacific Voices Community Coordinator.
Paulina is originally from the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. She moved to Honolulu from Oregon to assist her father who had been seeking medical treatment here. This motivated her to volunteer her time to help others from the Pohnpeian community navigate Hawaii’s healthcare system. Paulina is a current board member of We Are Oceania (WAO), a nonprofit organization supporting Micronesian and Pacific Islander communities in Hawaii.
Paulina shares that her goal is to get kids to know their culture, embrace it, and be proud of where they’re from. “A little goes a long way. I’ve been wanting this for our US-born kids or ones that may never have a chance to go home and visit.”
The curriculum for Pacific Voices includes a one hour homework session followed by an hour and a half of cultural enrichment where youth learn traditional Micronesian chants, dances, and songs. Most of the youth are Chuukese. Paulina envisions an expansion of the program to the Marshallese community to expose youth to all the different cultures of Micronesia. She also hopes to get more elders involved to teach kids through simple activities like beginner weaving, storytelling, and even learning simple counting in the different languages.
In 2008, KKV established Pacific Voices, a two-generation project that reconnects Micronesian children to their culture and community through education, advocacy, and cultural arts and crafts. Based at Kūhio Park public housing, Pacific Voices strives to establish a traditional social support system and leadership development opportunities for Micronesian youth in Kalihi.
This year, Pacific Voices expanded to provide after school programming at Dole Middle School and Kalihi Elementary School. KKV welcomed Paulina Perman
as the new Community Coordinator for these sites.
The program is doing so well that within the first week at Kalihi elementary school they had already reached their max participation numbers with an active waiting list of youth and families who want to join the after school program.
