Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 3, 1 March 2010 — OHA Trustees approve $2.2 million in grants [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA Trustees approve $2.2 million in grants

By KWO Staff Abigail Seda sees Native Hawaiian youth in Waimānalo in distress from situations including homelessness, foster care or sometimes having parents incarcerated or on drugs. A program at Waimānalo Health Center intervenes through outreach at Waimānalo Elementary and Intermediate School, where it sets up shop five days a

week, from 7:45 a.m. to 4: 15 p.m. "The kids we work with are not as lucky as most kids are," said Seda, program coordinator of the Kū I Ka Mana mentoring program, whieh serves mostly Native Hawaiians. "We try to make them feel special. A lot of them get into a lot of trouble. A handful had to be referred to Olomana (School)," whieh caters to students falling behind in credits and attendance. A $100,000 Community Grant fromthe Office of Hawaiian Affairs is

helping Kū I Ka Mana and its fiveperson staff eonhnue their work to teach middle-schoolers about healthy living and positive life choices, through mentoring in classrooms and services such as tutoring, health education and activities during the after-school program UPLINK, or Uniting Peer Learning, Integrating New Knowledge. Kū I ka Mana was one of 35 projects awarded more than $2.2 million in OHA Community Grants for efforts aimed at improving the Native

Hawaiian community, and therefore, the community at large. The funding, approved Leb. 4 by the Board of Trustees, comes during one of the worst recessions in decades. Nonprofit organizations and the Native Hawaiian communities they serve have been especially impacted. "OHA is pleased to continue its support for nonprofit community groups who work to make a differenee in the lives of Native Hawaiians in the midst of a struggling eeonomy," said OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona. "The $2.2 million will fund projects ranging from mobile health screening for diabetes to substance abuse rehabilitation to the promotion of innovative, culturally based curriculum development at Hawaiian immersion schools." In selecting grant recipients, the OHA Board of Trustees considered projects that would ensure that Native Hawaiians have continued opportunities in health care, human services, education, housing, eeonomie development, native rights and cultural preservation. Here are the recipients for fiscal year 2010: Aka'ula Middle School - $86,076 for PRISM, a culturally responsive educational program. (Moloka'i) Alu Like Ine. - $49,605 for coordination of 10 workshops to help kūpuna manage chronic disease. (O'ahu, Moloka'i) Ameiiean Diabetes Association of Hawai'i - $34,350 for the Vision Project, providing a mohile retinal scan screening unit for early diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. (All islands) Ameiiean Lung Association of Hawai'i - $28,843 for Maopopo Oli Hānō, a school-based asthma education and management program. (O'ahu, Maui and Hawai'i Island) Arizona Memoiial Museum Association - $100,000 to support a Pearl Harbor Visitor Center display on the Hawaiian cultural significance and history of the Pu'uloa area. (O'ahu) Bay Clinic - $42,000 to support expansion of a diabetes self-management program in the Puna district, targeting high-risk Native Hawaiians. (Hawai'i Island) Boys and Girls Club of Hawai'i - $58,650 to improve the new Youth Education Town (YET) with support for certification in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and Native Hawaiian-focused stewardship projects for youth. (O'ahu) Family Support Services of West Hawai'i - $57,500 to support Nā Makuakāne Maika'i O Hawai'i, a program to increase parenting sldlls for fathers through culturally based practices and program support. (Hawai'i Island) God's Country Waimānalo - $61,000 to support a hands-on learning program in cultural activities, including: ka 'āina (growing potted gardens), ke kai (oeean skill building), and mea ha'i'ōlelo (story telling/communication). (O'ahu) Hale 'Ōpio Kaua'i - $45,350 for implementation of Ke Kahua O Ka Mālamalama, an after-school program to engage students in Native Hawaiian cultural practices and values. (Kaua'i) Hawai'i MaoU on behalf of the Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club - $47,269 for a civic club multipurpose cultural project and installation of ahupua'a highway boundary markers. (O'ahu) Ka 'Aha Hui Na'auao - $30,678 for Ka Papa 'Oihana or Per-

petuating traditional Hawaiian Knowledge, Cultural and Natural Resources, an instruction program in traditional hale constmction and wood sculpture. (O'ahu) Ka Hale Pōmaika'i - $100,000 for the expansion of substance abuse treatment and recovery services. (Moloka'i) Ka Meheu 'Ohu O Ka Honu on behalf of Ho'omanao I Nā Wā I Huliau - $65,000 to support the traditions and culture of Native Hawaiians through the re-creation of visual images via photographs, written text and story telhng. (All islands) Kaua'i Eeonomie Opportunity ine. - $58,745 to support the operation of the Mana'olana emergency homeless shelter on Kaua'i. (Kaua'i) Kawaikini New Century Charter School - $55,250 to support eunieulum development and a pilot project for third and fourth graders. (Kaua'i) Keōmailani Hanapī Foundation - $91 ,500 for the Native Hawaiian art education project, HOEA, including operational support and the establishment of a community art space and storage facihty. (Hawai'i Island) Kīhei Youth Center - $48,000 to support the MERITS after-school homework assistance program at the Kīhei Youth Center. (Maui) Kūlia Nā Mamo - $50,000 to support equitable employment for the transgendered and homosexuals through employers on how to retainthose employees. (O'ahu) Leadership Kaua'i - $25,000 for the annual Adult Leadership Program and Pi'ina Hōkū Youth Leadership Program. (Kaua'i) Lunalilo Home - $100,000 to provide Hnaneial assistance to indigent Hawahan kūpuna not able to afford care at Lunahlo Home. (O'ahu) Lyman Museum - $59,328 to support protection and restoration of Hawaiian cultural artifacts in the museum's collections. (Hawai'i Island) Nānākuli Housing Corporation - $98,723 to assist Native Hawaiian famihes with home repair and/ or replacement needs. (O'ahu) Narconon Hawai'i - $49,500 to support the outpatient drug rehabilitation program located in Kalaeloa. (O'ahu) Nahonal Tropical Botanical Garden - $62,522 for the cultivation of native plants in Hā'ena to be made available and used as resources by the Native Hawaiian community. (Kaua'i) Neighborhood Plaee of Kona - $99,648 to support the prevention of child abuse and provide chhd abuse prevention information to rural areas. (Hawai'i Island) Olowalu Cultural Reserve - $44,530 for reconstruction of the ahupua'a at Līhau, Olowalu, to perpetuate traditional and customary practices of Kanaka Maoli and protect natural resources. (Maui) Paeihe American Foundation on behalf of Digitalmoku. net - $49,720 to establish an Internet site on the history of the Kohala distiict with online access to ethnographic interviews with cultural experts and community members. (Hawai'i Island) Paeihe Health Ministry - $38,241 to support mobile and free blood pressure screenings, heahh assessments and heahh referrals for low-ineome, elderly and homeless populations living on beaches and in transitional housing. (O'ahu) PA'I Foundation - $49,600 to support MAMo 2010: a monthlong celebration of Native Hawaiian arts and culture intended to highhght contemporary Native See GRANTS on page 05

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Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees on Feb. 4 gather with members of community organizations after awarding more than $2.2 million in grants. - Photo: Helson Gaspar

GRANTS

Continued from page 04 Hawaiian artists. (O'ahu) Partners In Development Foundation - $99,984 for Kōkua 'Ohana, a program to increase the number of licensed Native Hawaiian families providing homes for Native Hawaiian foster children. (O'ahu) Tri-Isle Resource Conservation and Development Council ine. on behalf of Lāna'ihale Forest and Watershed Project - $89,770 for the Lāna'ihale Forest and Watershed Project to protect the habitat of the endangered Hawaiian Petrelbird ('ua'u) and recharge the Lāna'ihale watershed by removing invasive species. Wai'anae Coast Coalition on behalf of Wai'anae Coast Family Center (Pa'a Hala) - $100,000 to provide family conferencing and cultural classes and support the goal of establishing a Hawaiian cultural center for farming and monthly hō'ike. (O'ahu) Waimānalo Health Center - $100,000 to support Kū I Ka Mana, a Native Hawaiian mentoring program for Waimānalo Middle School students to increase knowledge of healthy living and make positive lifestyle choices. (O'ahu) Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Kaua'i - $50,000 to support domestic violence intervention and sex offender treatment programs. (Kaua'i) ■