Youth Services Retreat

On December 12-14, 11 Youth Services team members enjoyed a relaxing retreat at Camp Mokuleia. “It was a time to rest, reflect, and reconnect to ourselves and one another,” said Youth Services Coordinator Rona Mangayayam. “It also gave us time to start working on our plan for the next year.”  

Each session began and ended with an aloha and mahalo circle. During these circles, the group was always asked the question: “what do you want to say to the person sitting beside you?” Although this sounds simple, it was a good starting point for a conversation that most team members wouldn’t otherwise have with each other. It allowed them to open up, create new relationships, and strengthen old ones.  

Rona worked with Hui Hoaka, KKV’s research team, to come up with a strategic plan for Youth Services going into the new year. Each team member filled out an assessment prior to the retreat. Through the data, the team was able to see what aspects were working for them and what they wanted to improve on. After discussing their plans for the future, they concluded that their main goals were leader development, retention, recruitment, and culture. 

Going off their goals for the new year, the group discussed what their needs were for 2025. While many ideas were brought up, technology training and workshops for working with youth were clear frontrunners for the department. “We want to continue to build their capacity,” said Rona. “These are the big things right now that will help our program grow.”  

The retreat was also filled with team bonding activities focused on strengthening each person individually, as well as the department as a whole. Two games were focused on communication, the human knot and the marshmallow tower. During the human knot, the whole team was tangled by holding hands with different people across from them in a circle. The team had to communicate with each other to get free. “We asked them, in what ways are you communicating with your team members?” said Rona. “If someone doesn’t understand, how can you improve your communication skills?” During the marshmallow tower challenge, the group was split up by program: Pacific Voices, KVIBE, and Hoʻoulu I Ke Aloha (HIKA). Each team had to build a tower using uncooked spaghetti, tape, and marshmallows within a timeframe. “This game also strengthened the ways they communicated with each other,” added Rona. Some group members emerged as leaders, while others were encouraged to speak up to help their group succeed.  

Although the retreat focused on development and honing their skills, the team also had a lot of fun. As most of their group discussions ended in the early evening, they had a lot of time to just hang out and get to know each other. “We never laughed as hard as we did on this retreat. It’s one of the rare times where we could just have fun together. They can’t wait to do it again.”  

All photos courtesy of Youth Services.