A lot is packed into the 18- by 64-foot space that had been used as a storage room, according to Puni Kekauoha, president of the Papakolea Community Association, which runs the center.

"We are occupying every square foot now," Kekauoha said. "We now have a storage problem, but it's a really good thing."

The two-story community center is a busy place, with classes covering early education, healthcare and hula. A kupuna program, the Boys and Girls Club of Hawai'i and Safe Haven all work from the center. Church services are held on Sundays.

Kekauoha and other residents formed the nonprofit Papakolea Community Development Corp. and took control of the neighborhood community center from the city in 2002. She said running the center has become a step toward self-determination for Papakolea and its adjacent homeland communities of Kewalo and Kalawahine.

Papakolea Homestead resident Rebekkah Quinlan brings her four children to classes and activities at the center where she volunteers part-time. Her husband makes use of the lomi lomi classes.

Lavonne Sexton, program facilitator at the Papakolea community center, talks to children using the Leap Frog program in the center's new technology and research facility. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I think they are trying really hard and I can tell it is working because parents are bringing their kids here," she said. "From before, I wouldn't have brought my kids here. Now I feel safer here. They keep it clean and the kids enjoy coming up here. Even my 2-year-old will cry to come up here."

She said a program called Leap Frog, which uses an electronic interactive educational pad, has really helped develop her children's reading skills.

"I see a big difference in my kids," Quinlan said. "When I watch the kids from beginning to now, they are eager and anxious to grab a book and read it. We can actually can let them read for a half hour and they won't care.

"I think it is a great thing that now they are putting in computers with access for kids. It is just awesome."

The new health clinic will be run by Dr. Joy Jurek, the medical director of Ke Ola Mamo, who sees patients at the community center or in the comfort of their home.

Papakolea is a 27-acre homestead with 270 homes and about 1,500 residents near the entrance to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

The first community center was built in 1932 along with a health center run by Queen's Hospital, now The Queen's Medical Center. The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands leased the land to the city in 1963 and the present center — including a covered basketball court and a small playground — was built in 1984. In 1999, following a community vision project, residents began developing a plan to manage the center themselves.

Today programs such as lomi lomi classes, senior services and sports teams continue, and more are being planned, including business training, a new community kitchen and TV production training to broadcast center events and meetings.