Hawaii-Okinawa connection highlighted through student homestead program

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Dozens of high school students from Okinawa gathered Sunday to celebrate the end of their two-week homestead program.

Students from Chatan and Kadena studied English and Hawaiian history at Tokai University in West Oahu.

The picnic was hosted by a local club, Chatan-Kadena Chojin Kai, and took place at the Ala Moana Regional Park.

Organizers and members of the Hawaii-Okinawan community said programs like these help strengthen the cultural connections between both places.

“When we bring these students from Okinawa and they come (to Hawaii) and they’re from Japan, they’re from Kedana, and they’re here in a group of Hawaii residents all sharing the same heritage, that’s the power of this picnic, bringing Hawaii and Okinawa together,” said Jon Itomura, executive director of the Hawaii United Okinawa Association.

Itomura added that since the club started 99 years ago, students from Okinawa have come nearly every year.

“We’re in our fifth, sixth generation of Okinawans here. We want them to get in touch with their friends and relatives in Okinawa,” Itomura said. “Similarly, the students that come from Okinawa to know that there’s this presence in Hawaii and people here who are maintaining these traditions and cultures here in Hawaii, they know that it’s some place they can feel they have a second home.”

Next year, the club will celebrate its 100th year of bringing students to the islands.

Earlier this year, the Okinawan community in Hawaii celebrated 125 years since the first Okinawan immigrants came to Hawaii.