Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 6, 1 June 1997 — A dream come true for Moloka ʻI family [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A dream come true for Moloka ʻI family

Patricia Mims, 57, can't remember how many times she and her family have had to move over the years. "We moved trom rental to rental," Mims said, "We ended up moving into some really dumpy houses." Many of the houses, like the one the Mims family lives in now, have not been safe. Leaky roofs and bad plumbing have been a way of life. "We could only pay minimal rent; it was all we could afford," she said. Continued on page 4 | ■

Moloka i Family Continued from page 1

Patricia and husband Clayton Mims, 63, a retired firefighter, have had to put mueh of their time, money and resources toward medical problems that plagued the two Mims children. For a time they were forced to live on O'ahu to get medical treatment for their daughter. The family applied for Hawaiian homestead land in 1973, and were awarded a lot in 1986. But they were not able to qualify for a conventional loan to build a house. "We never were financially stable," Patricia said. And when Clayton retired in 1991 , the Mims were even more strapped. Nani Brant, a friend of the Mims, who was the Hawaiian Home Lands Commissioner for Moloka'i at the time, began looking into Kaua'i Habitat for Humanity as a model for a self-help

housing project on Moloka'i. "Nani has always been eoncerned about the Moloka'i people," Mims said. "We ■ got involved in | the very begin- ! ning. Wesaid, ' 'okay, we'll do everything we ean to get (Habitat for Humanity) going not only for

ourselves, but for everyone in need on Moloka'i.'" She initiated the search for^someone to help bring the program to Moloka'i. Bert Harris, who had been doing kupuna teaching, and had

experience in concrete and masonry construction, became that person. "Bert put her homestead and her need for a house on hold for us," Mims said. The Mims became one of 1 1 families on the waiting list for the self-help projects with Moloka'i Habitatfor Humanity. The Mims eventually qualified for a Habitat for Humanity loan and were placed midway on the waiting list. But when the plans for the OHA's model home were laid out, they matched the Mims' home plan.

A month into the construction of her home Patricia says she is relieved — relieved that her family will finally have a plaee to eall home, relieved that something will be passed on to her children. "This is the answer to my prayer that now my J family has someplace to go," she says. "Yesterday we began to put in the foundation blocks, and now we are waiting for materi- ! als," says Patricia. Americorp workers with the Kaua'i Habitat for Humanity were coming on ; the weekend to help. Patricia anticipates that , the framing and painting for her home will be completed within a week. ■ "We are very grateful to OHA for putting up the finances for us," Mims said. "I've grown up on this island and we've had major financial problems, so we're not able to get loans anywhere else."

Clayton and Patricia Mims at the groundbreaking for their new home.