Kirra Lynn Garcia – Lead Translator

Kirra Lynn Garcia

Lead Translator

Aloha pumehana kākou! ‘O koʻu inoa ʻo Kirra Lynn Kawailehua Garcia. Ua hānau a hānai ʻia au ma Kahului, Maui. He haumāna kaiapuni au ma ke kula kiʻekiʻe ʻo Kekaulike. Ua hoʻomaka koʻu huakaʻi ma ke kaiapuni ma ke kula ʻo Pāʻia, a laila ua hoʻomau au ma ke kula waena ʻo Kalama, a i ia manawa aia au ma ka papa Lama ma ke kula kiʻekiʻe ʻo Kekaulike. Ma koʻu ulu aʻe ʻana me ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi a me ka moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi, ua hoʻololi kēlā i koʻu kuanaʻike o nā mea a pau. Ma koʻu mau makahiki ma ke kaiapuni, ua hiki iaʻu ke hana i nā mea like ʻole e like me ke aʻo ʻana i nā oli/mele, ka hula ʻana, ka hele ʻana ma nā huakaʻi e mālama i ka ʻāina, ke aʻo ʻana i ka moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi, ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ʻana me kuʻu mau hoa a me nā kumu e hoʻoikaika i ko mākou pilina, a he mau mea hou aku. Ma muli o kēia, he mea koʻikoʻi loa ia iaʻu e hoʻōla a poina ʻole i ka ʻōlelo a me ka moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi. Me kēia kaha pūnaewele, lana ka manaʻo e ʻike a aʻo ana kekahi i ka waiwai o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi a makemake ʻo ia e kaʻanalike me haʻi i mea e hoʻomau i ka ʻōlelo no nā hanauna e hiki mai ana. E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi!

Aloha pumehana kākou! My name is Kirra Lynn Kawailehua Garcia and I was born and raised in Kahului, Maui. I am a Hawaiian immersion (kaiapuni) student at Kekaulike High School. I began my journey in the Hawaiian immersion program at Pāʻia elementary school, then I continued on to Kalama Intermediate school, and currently I’m a senior at Kekaulike High School. Growing up surrounded by ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and Hawaiian culture has deeply shaped the way I view and understand everything. Throughout my years in kaiapuni, I was able to experience many different things such as learning oli/mele, hula, going on field trips to take care of our ʻāina, learning about Hawaiian history, being able to connect with my classmates and teachers through ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and so much more. Because of this, it’s extremely important to me that our language and history continues to thrive and is never forgotten. Everyday I learn something new and try my best to improve my ʻōlelo. I hope that through this website, others will come to understand the importance of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and feel inspired to share it so that it will continue to flourish for generations to come. E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi!

• Twitter
• LinkedIn