Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 7, 1 Iulai 2011 — Kīpuka, a new beginning [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kīpuka, a new beginning

By Rae DeCoito Located on a site adjacent to Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in Kapolei, a small building called Klpuka is making a huge impact on the future of the Native Hawaiian community. Kīpuka is the first phase of the Prince Kūhiō Community Center and serves as headquarters for Hawai'i Maoli, the nonprofit affiliate of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. The vision of the center is to build a Kauhale, a grouping of buildings modeled after the concept of traditional Hawaiian villages, where separate buildings house separate

functions. Eaeh building of the Kauhale will provide services to meet the eeonomie, business, education and physical health and cultural well-being needs of 0'ahu's Leeward conununity. Together these services create a Kauhale in Kapolei where a strong and healthy conununity ean prosper. The conununity center concept fulfills the vision of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs to continue its ongoing efforts to help Native Hawaiian people improve their lives through education, business training and opportunities, awareness of better health care and the preservation of traditional values. In just its first full year of existence, Klpuka has become a model for civic engagement of Native Hawaiian residents in West O'ahu and beyond. Many partners were vital to the success of the development of the conununity center, including the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Chaminade University, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Iames and Abigail Campbell Family Foundation, and Hawaiian Electric Industries Charitable Foundation. We are so grateful to these eommunity partners for their tremendous support, and there is great excitement and demand for Phases 2 and 3 of the center, whieh will include additional office space, a business center and certified kitchens for facility programs. A MODEL FOR HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY CENTERS The Kīpuka vision aligns whh the strategic priority of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs to collaborate whh Hawaiian homesteaders. Kanehili Hawaiian homestead is a new 403 -unh residential development adjacent to Kīpuka. The Kīpuka Computer Resource Center provides daily access to computers for employment training as well as computer-literacy skills

development. WorkLinks Hawai'i, whieh focuses on retraining the unemployed, is planning to make Kīpuka a West O 'ahu site for its workforce development trainings. ENCOURAGING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION The Kanehili Homestead and neighboring conununity have rallied together to plan, organize and launeh Kipuka Kākou, a monthly open market at the site. Rotating themes, such as Keiki Month, 'Ohana Month, and Cultural Activities, highlight aetivities that include Native Hawaiian plant and cultural demonstrations, crafts workshops, food and entertainment, plants and Native Hawaiian crafts for sale. In Ianuary 2011 Hawai'i Maoli was designated the first Hawai'i site of the Cooperating Collections of the Foundation Center. Nonprofit organizations and other grant seekers on O'ahu looking for funding sources now have access to a valuable new collection of national resources of

the Foundation Center of New York. It is evidence of Hawai'i Maoli's mission to identify and marshal critieal resources for the benefit of the Native Hawaiian conununity and the conununity at large. Cooperating Collections provide under-resourced and underserved populations in need of vital information and training with tools they ean use to become successful grant seekers. At locations throughout the country, Cooperating Collections offer access free of charge to the eenter's detailed information on grant makers and how to apply for grants. Prince Kūhiō Community Center in Kapolei is a model for the success of a Native Hawaiian conununity center in bringing people, resources and conununity partnerships together to empower loeal conununities to execute their vision of sustainable Native Hawaiian projects and programs. Future development phases of the center are currently underway. ■ Rae DeCoito is the Executive Director ofHawai'i Maoli.

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