Maui women's work gets $100,000 boost

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — Two Maui women have been awarded $100,000 from the Ford Foundation to advance their work helping Native Hawaiians achieve homeownership and to become more financially savvy, it was announced in New York yesterday.

Kehaulani Filimoe'atu, top, and Blossom Feiteira were selected from more than 1,300 nominees nationwide.

Filimoe'atu and Feiteira will also receive an additional $15,000 in support of their activities over the next two years.

"We're kind of amazed," Filimoe'atu said yesterday. "The fact that we are the first award winners from Hawai'i is even more humbling for us."

Hawaiian Community Assets was started in 2000 as a nonprofit program focused on "getting Native Hawaiians back on the 'aina," she said.

Projects include homeownership counseling, credit counseling and financial assessments.

Both Filimoe'atu and Feiteira are Native Hawaiians involved in the sovereignty movement, but they come from different backgrounds.

At one time, Feiteira was homeless for six months with her husband and kids before moving to a shelter. Filimoe'atu, meanwhile, is a former travel-industry worker who works as a Maui Police Department emergency dispatcher.

Together, they bring a mix of experience to help Native Hawaiians overcome their problems coping with the Western financial system.

"The perception of many people on the Mainland is that the Islands are made up of happy Hawaiians, beautiful maidens and lovely beaches. But there's really a lack of housing and a lot of homelessness. We just want to get people to take care of themselves," Filimoe'atu said.

She said Hawaiian Community Assets also has plans to establish a bank, credit union and mortgage company that would focus on helping Native Hawaiians.

Launched in September 2000, "Leadership for a Changing World" is sponsored by the Advocacy Institute in Washington, D.C., and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, in addition to the Ford Foundation.

The 2003 winners join 40 previous recipients.

"These awards recognize the achievement of remarkable people working to bring positive social change to their communities and beyond," said Susan V. Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation.

Reach Timothy Hurley at 808-244-4880 or at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com.