OHA Awards Three Maui Non-Profits Over $800K

By Sonia Isotov

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has awarded $826,377 in grants to three community-based organizations on Maui that have tied their missions to helping improve conditions for Native Hawaiians.

Among the three organizations, the Queen’s Medical Center has received the largest grant of $443,177 for their Mauli Ola project. Mauli Ola provides activity programs in Hana, such as gardening, walking, lauhala weaving and fish netting that will decrease obesity, improve blood pressure, and improve physical functioning and psychology well-being.

A grant of $200,000 will also be awarded to the Boys and Girls Club of Maui for their Ho’ona’auao program which helps develop good study habits for students ages 11-17. This program will target a total of 336 youth members through the Power Hour homework assistance program.

The third Maui organization to receive funding from OHA is the Kipahulu Ohana’s Mo’omeheu program which will receive $183,200 to support cultural practitioners by providing the plant resources needed in their practice as well as connecting the community and others to the lo’i.

“The important work these organizations do has inspired our confidence and support,” said Colette Machado, the chairperson of OHA, in a media statement released today. “We look forward to seeing many positive results from their efforts to help improve a sense of overall well-being among Native Hawaiians.”

Statewide, OHA  has awarded $8 million in grants to 32 community-based organizations. More than 6,200 Native Hawaiians are expected to directly benefit from the grant money that addresses such OHA priorities as combating obesity, improving middle as well as high-school test scores, and increasing housing stability. The 32 non-profit groups were selected from 146 applications for OHA grant money.

The grant money received by the 32 non-profit organizations will also fund programs that fit into a variety of other OHA priorities, ranging from preserving culture and raising family income, to protecting land and supporting pre-natal care.