Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 6, 1 June 2016 — Loans help with home and auto repairs [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Loans help with home and auto repairs

ByTreenaShapiro On the neighbor islands, finding emergency loans ean be a ehallenge. So what ean you do when your roof starts leaking or your car's transmission keeps slipping? Moloka'i resident Marion Dudoit has faced that question three times since 2010. She and her husband John built their home on a homestead in Kaunakakai and with John retired and three adopted children to care for, the Dudoits haven't had mueh cash on hand for home improvements. "My house is now like 38 years old and had never been fixed on the inside," Marion shared. "My living room and kitchen were terribly bad." When the need for home repairs heeame urgent, Marion mentioned

her woes at Office of Hawaiian Affairs Moloka'i office where she volunteered. After she told the staff about her problems, they told her about OHA's ConsumerMicro-Loan Program (CLMP) and encouraged her to apply for an emergency loan. In October 2010, the Dudoits were able to take out a loan from OHA to repair their bathroom, including

replacing the tub. Then, in 2014, John's '87 Chevy truck's transmission started causing trouble. "He wouldn't part with it," Marion described. "He wouldn't give up." After taking out a loan to replace the transmission, the truck is running fine, even with more than 100,000 miles on it. Then this January, the Dudoits needed to pay for home repairs onee again. "When it rained heavy, it was going to leak and it showed," Marion said. "I changed my whole drywall, my whole living room, kitchen and two more bedrooms."

With another loan from OHA and free labor fromher son and son-in-law, both carpenters, the Dudoits were able to remove a bedroom and expand their living room, in addition to replacing the walls. "They added an island so it's wider and more roomy," she said. The electrical work, she added, was done by her son's friend, who sometimes stays at her home when he and her son go hunting. "You take care of them, they take care of you," she pointed out. All told, the Dudoits borrowed about $16,000 and expect to have

it paid off by the end of this year. Without OHA's Consumer Micro-Loan Program, the Dudoits would have had to apply for a loan at their credit union, whieh had higher interest rates and a shorter repayment schedule. "I thought OHA was easier and their interest was small," Marion said. The loan process was also quick, since OHA generally processes applications right away and gets loans disbursed within two weeks from when they're approved. "There's no hesitation or nothing," Maiion noted. The Dudoits aren't the only members of their family benefitting from OHAloans. "My son andhis wife went through the business program," she said Her granddaughter used an OHA loan to help pay for her education. OHA's Consumer Micro-Loan program offers low cost loans up to $7,500 to Native Hawaiians who are experiencing temporary hnaneial hardship due to unforeseen events, or who wish to enhanee their careers. For more information, visit www.oha.org/cmlp. ■

My house is now like 38 years old and had never been fixed on the inside. My living room and kitchen were terribly bad." — Manon Dudoit

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0HA's Consumer Miem-Loan Program helps beneficiaries pay for emergency home and aulo repairs. - Photo: Thinkstock