Vision & Inoa
Our vision is for girls who have experienced trauma to navigate new pathways to balanced, responsible, connected lives now and for generations to come.
The Kealahou (kay-ah-lah-ho) inoa (Hawaiian for “name”) and logo embody a girl-driven, metaphorical and visual representation of our mission and vision. Kealahou means “a new pathway” in the Hawaiian language. We want all girls in our program to find new pathways to holistic healing from the trauma they have experienced.
The girl in our logo is named Kilolani. Her Hawaiian name literally translates to a sooth-sayer, a person who is able to foresee the future, who predicts the future by observing the sky. Our former cultural and linguistic specialist, Brandee Aukai, named Kilolani with her mana‘o:
When I look at the visual picture, I see hope and a young woman who knows her destiny. She is surrounded by the stars, and looks to the stars for her guidance. I can also see our staff in the trail behind her head represented as stars who are there to assist her and support her on her journey.
The following testimonial was written by a girl involved in the design of our logo who was living at Hawai‘i Youth Correctional Facility at the time:
We all decided that the logo should have a symbol of a girl which resulted in us designing the girl’s face and hair. The image of the girl represented the fact that the program worked with girls. The hair represented the struggles of the past and by having it blowing in the back, it symbolized the girl’s willingness to move forward.
We also recognized the importance of learning from our past and the ability to grow, so we designed the hair to look like roots. The roots also serve as a foundation. The stars are saying, “The sky is the limit and you can reach your goals.”
The flowers are shown blossoming and represent a new start. The flowers are also an indication that prior to addressing our trauma, we are only seeds. Now, we have the ability to blossom like a flower.
Finally, we chose the color blue because it reminded us of water, which is calming. We wanted every Kealahou girl entering the project to feel welcome and have a sense of relief.
Last reviewed on September 1, 2021