A Hawaiʻi 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
So our keiki can thrive here for generations.
Bridging Hawaiʻi’s keiki into skilled-trades apprenticeships — so staying home is a choice, not a luxury.
The Mission
Hana lima. Work of the hands.
Hawaiʻi already has world-class apprenticeship programs — IBEW Local 1186, Plumbers & Fitters 675, the Hawaiʻi Carpenters Apprenticeship & Training Fund, Laborers 368, ABC Hawaiʻi. These are paid, multi-year pathways into journey-level careers that pay enough to raise a family on these islands.
The problem isn’t training. The problem is the door. Hawaiian keiki — especially on Hawaiʻi Island, Waiʻanae, Kaʻū, and Molokaʻi — don’t know the intake windows, can’t always get to Honolulu for testing, can’t afford the boots and the drug-test fee, and don’t have anyone in their corner once they start. So they apply somewhere else. Or they don’t apply at all. Or they wash out in the first three months.
Hana Lima Youth Foundation is the bridge. We find Hawaiian high schoolers who could thrive in the trades, prepare them for apprenticeship intake, place them with our partner programs, and stand with them through year one. Staying home, building careers, on our ʻāina.
