Meet Our Families

The Nelms ‘Ohana

Aloha! We are the Nelms ‘Ohana, comprised of Chris, Tey, and 4-year-old-twins Cody and Shawn. Chris is originally from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and relocated to Hawaii in 1999. After serving in the US Army and later the Air Force for a combined service of over 30 years, Chris now works in the aviation industry. Tey immigrated to Hawaii in 1981 as a little girl, after miraculously escaping the Cambodian genocide with her family. Having worked in the human resources field on the mainland and overseas for over 10 years, she is currently taking a sabbatical from her career to be a stay-at-home-mom. Our family enjoys reading, hiking, camping, traveling, and going to the beach! We also love to have family and friends over for poolside BBQs and play dates! The Home Garden Network (HGN) is the perfect opportunity for our active family to participate in because we love the idea of growing our own garden, but didn’t know where to start! We are pleased to find out that the HGN encourages all members of the family to help out with age-appropriate gardening activities. We especially enjoy watching our toddlers get excited about learning how fruits and vegetables grow in an effort to encourage more healthy eating habits!

The Khun ‘Ohana

Name: Violeta 

Occupation: retired registered nurse, previously worked at Castle Medical Center in Kailua and now work as a school nurse helping special needs kids.

Where are you from: originally, I am from Manila, Philippines, but have been living in the U.S. for more than 35 years and lived in California and later moved here to Hawai’i in December 2004. 

What does the “Home Gardens Network” mean to you?:

Gardening has always been something I’ve been wanting to do, but due to having other responsibilities such as raising kids, taking care of my family and working a full-time job, I wasn’t able to garden until now. Being a part of the HGN has not only been educational in that we get to learn more about gardening such as germinating and propagating seeds, but it has also been a daily stress reliever for me. It’s always something that makes me excited. When I see the plants in my backyard growing, it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something bigger than myself. It also gives me a sense of nostalgia and brings back childhood memories as if I’m home again.