Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 9, 1 Kepakemapa 1994 — OHA Update [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA Update

Housing OHA's Housing Division has begun preiiminary work on a proposed kupuna housing project in Waimānalo. The division has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle and is now fashioning a master plan. Work in the next few weeks will include cost estimating, soil analysis, and site acquisition. Staff will also look at ways to complete the tinancing package for this $2.5-million proiect. The project is contingent on the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' approval on the use of the land. Housing officer Stephen Morse says the project might consist of 60 housing units 48 one-bedroom houses and another dozen units included within three or four care liome clusters), a community center, and 10,000 - 15,000 feet of commercial space in ehe form of a mini-Hawaiian marketplaee. However, community acceptance to the project will be gauged in community meetings, and Morse pledges to involve the community in planning and design. The housing division is also embarking on self-help housing projects in Pu'ukapu on the Big lsland and Kahana Valley on <3'ahu.

'Upolu Point The U.S. Coast Guard opened the 'Upolu Point LORAN station to the Kohala eommunity last month during a weekend of blessings, meetings, and site visits. 'Upolu Point has been leased for a year free of charge to OHA by the Coast Guard. OHA is now working with the community to create a native Hawaiian cultural leaming center at the site. The day after a blessing to purify the land, members of the Coast Guard, OHA, and the site planning committee, Ka 'Ohana O Kohala, toured the buildings for the first time since it was closed down more than a year ago. Initial plans for the site eall for the creation of an office for the committee, and living quarters for a kahu who will maintain the center. OHA has already given the community $10,000 to help with planning and to develop infrastructure. The committee is now trying to eome up with a budget for the future use of the site. OHA land officer Linda Delaney says the leaming center will likely develop in phases as the planning committee agrees on ideas for site uses and as funds become avaUable.

'Aha Kupuna OHA's Education Division is busy preparing for 'Aha Kūpuna '94, Ku'ikahi A Nā Kūpuna — A Convocation of Hawaiian Elders. The conference will be held Sept. 30 - Oct. 2 at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikīkī. This year's theme is "I Ka 'Ōlelo ka Mana ... In the Word there is Mana," recognizing that language — 'ōlelo — is the means through whieh information and tradition were handed down through the generations.

The goal of 'Aha Kūpuna is to explore and advocate for the kupuna role in reaffirming the Hawaiian 'ohana and its lransition into the future. The conference will be an exploration of how we ean continue the traditions of kupuna, share our special stories with our keiki and mo'opuna, and eontinue our kupuna legacy. The registration fee is $225, but OHA pays $160 of that amount, so participants need pay only $65. For more information, eall 594-1912 or 637-9118. Registration deadline is Sept. 15.

OHA held a reception for its Operation 'Ohana Hawaiian registry program at the Hawai'i Maritime Center July 29. Photo by Jeff Clark