Hanai family dinner held at YMCA Camp Erdman

Cdr. Nicole Hatch with Brandy Belt,YMCA Camp Erdman/hanai family coordinator and Tammy Duncan enjoy the foreign foods prepared by the international staff from Camp Erdman as part of their hanai family dinner gathering on Feb. 13 at Camp Erdman.

Contributing Writer

YMCA Camp Erdman hosted a “hanai family dinner” on Feb. 13 to unite international staff members with local families.

“Camp Erdman has an international staff program that consists of young men and women who come to work at the camp from a variety of countries for 12 months,” said Brandy Belt, the assistant program director/international program coordinator for YMCA Camp Erdman.

Camp Erdman hosts upwards of 20 internationals at any given time. They work as counselors and staff and reside on site.

According to Renee Derouche, program director for YMCA Camp Erdman, the international staff members are meticulously selected for this elite YMCA program.

The program emphasizes the importance of learning the American and Hawaiian cultures through a variety of events and activities. One such way is the hanai family program, which is designed to unite an international staff member with a local family.

“We are always looking for new ‘hanai families’ who are able to host our international staff by encouraging them to visit your home for the weekends, special events or even holidays and to help them learn and experience a new culture,” Belt said.

Tammy Duncan, whose husband is the commanding officer of the USS Key West, brought her three young sons to the dinner and stated that she was astounded by the warm welcome and gracious nature of the international staff members. “They all prepared foods from their native countries and shared a little about themselves. We were honored to be able to adopt a counselor named Luis from Mexico,” Duncan said.

Lt. Col. Butch Hatch and Cmdr. Nicole Hatch were also in attendance with their two children and adopted Joanna, another international staff member from Mexico. “This is an excellent program and a wonderful opportunity to learn more about foreign cultures while simultaneously sharing the American heritage with an Hawaiian twist,” Nicole said.

With 20 internationals representing 10 countries, food at the dinner represented all regions of the world.

According to program officials, the partnership between Camp Erdman and local military families has increased in recent years, due to the growing number of military family centered events, camps and activities that Erdman hosts.

For information on how to become part of the hanai family program, Belt said, “Please stop on by or call us directly at (808) 637-4615. You can also check out our website at http://www.ymcahonolulu.org/camp_erdman.”