Nonprofits receive lava recovery grants

The Hawaii County Kilauea Recovery Team has awarded $3.7 million in grants to 18 nonprofits to assist in eruption recovery efforts in lower Puna.

The Kilauea Recovery Grant Program awarded funds to organizations aiding in infrastructure development in areas affected by the 2018 disaster.

“The Community-Based Disaster Management Grant Program was developed to implement the concept of Puna Strong by providing capacity building and grant resources to residents and help support community initiatives,” said Douglas Le, the county’s recovery officer. “We look forward to partnering with the community on these grant programs and implementing other recovery strategies to increase resilience.”

The grants were awarded to:

• Big Island Resource Conservation and Development Council – $500,000 to support infrastructure development for displaced orchid growers;

• Habitat for Humanity – $500,000 to build five affordable homes for families who lost their homes during the eruption;

• Hooulu-Lahui – $500,000 to assist Kua O Ka La Public Charter School with bringing its leased property into code compliance;

• Malama O Puna – $375,000 for road repairs in Leilani Estates;

• Food Security Hawaii – $350,000 to assist farm damaged by the eruption;

• Fellowship for Perpetual Growth – $280,000 to assist farming cooperative damaged by the eruption;

• Grassroots Church – $275,000 to support job creation, sustainable agriculture and community engagement for the Kuleana Project in Pahoa;

• Hawaii Rise Foundation – $250,000 for Kapoho Vacationland project planning;

• Pahoa Lava Museum – $175,124 to restore road access to 16 properties isolated by lava in Malama Homesteads;

• O Maku‘u Ke Kahua Community Center – $154,000 to assist Hawaiian families move from subsistence to commercial farming, strengthen farmer’s market, and address safety and security issues;

• Ono Seeds – $120,000 to assist a farm damaged by the eruption;

• Kapono Red Road – $104,500 to support historical preservation, stewardship and land conservation;

• Self Discovery through Art – $40,750 to support a recovery, resilience, re-creation facilitator training program;

• Yeshua Outreach Center – $25,000 to build capacity as a viable Red Cross shelter;

• Pahoa Lava Museum – $23,584 to open Puamana Road;

• Pahoa Lava Museum – $22,000 to restore road access to Kapoho Crater;

• Polestar Gardens – $7,500 to restore greenhouse, water and irrigation systems for a farm;

• Church of the Holy Apostles – $5,000 for repairs of water lines damaged by earthquakes.