Big Island Weekly

Kealoha and Deanna Martin and their four children are the newest addition to the Habitat for Humanity West Hawaii Ohana. They recently moved into a Habitat home in Ocean View.

The family was living in dire conditions. “It was really tough at night”, said Kealoha. “I would tuck my kids to sleep in the van, and they would ask me, Daddy, when will we get a house with a shower and bedrooms? I would tell them that Jesus was working on that for us and they believed every word. It was their faith, prayers from our family and friends, and Habitat that made this happen.”

“Habitat West Hawaii is thrilled that we were able to work with the Martin family to provide safe, decent, affordable housing for their family. Their hard work in qualifying as a habitat family and their ability to provide not only “sweat equity” hours but also to make payments on a 20 year, no interest mortgage, is what makes this program successful,” said Diane Quitiquit, Habitat Board President. “Funding from individuals, foundations, agencies and corporate donations along with ReStore profits make Habitat home building possible,” stated Quitiquit.

Habitat for Humanity West Hawaii is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. Habitat for Humanity works in partnership with people in need to build and renovate decent, affordable housing.

In addition, Habitat for Humanity West Hawaii’s ReStore offers a wide variety of new and gently used home improvement products at discounted prices of up to 50-90 percent off retail value. Community donations for Habitat ReStore are always welcome. Proceeds generated through these generous donations help build homes for Habitat families. ReStore accepts clean Furniture, Building Materials, Working Appliances, Flooring, Doors, Windows, Cabinets, Sinks/Toilets, Lighting, Home Furnishings, Electrical, Hardware, and Plumbing Supplies.

To date, Habitat West Hawaii has completed the building of nine homes with an additional two under construction this summer. Habitat plans to complete the building of 10 homes in the next 18 months with a “Blitz Build” scheduled for September 2012, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Habitat West Hawaii affiliate.

To find out how you could be a Habitat partner family, visit our website, www.habitatwesthawaii.org or call (808)331-8010.

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Photo of Martin family courtesy of Habitat For Humanity West Hawaii