Image taken from the Ka'u digital story

Ka`u, the largest district in the State of Hawaii (625,000 acres), runs 60+ miles along Mamalahoa Highway on the Big Island. The area's last sugar plantation was closed in 1996 and there are no local employment centers. Ka`u is a rustic area. No public transportation exists within Ka`u. No mail delivery is made to homes, and there is no garbage pickup. Few areas of Ka`u have newspaper delivery of the Hilo or Kona paper and Honolulu papers are not available in Ka`u. Just one AM and one FM radio station can be caught in Ka`u. Limited cable TV service is offered to less than a thousand of the residents in the district. Many of the residents are off-power, generating their own electricity. Much of the subdivision is without phone service. Four-party phone lines are now being converted to private lines.

Ka`u's Learning Center, founded in April 1991, provides pre-school through adult education programs for the Ka`u Community.

The project goals included: developing the capacity to continue printing and distributing "Connection" a monthly community newsletter; providing adults and students with marketable computer skills; and empowering people through literacy using technology as a vehicle.

Continued support for the newsletter was accomplished by developing the capacity to do desktop publishing. Access to internet services brought new information to the organization for distribution through the newsletter.

Computer workshops for both adults and youth were conducted, including weekend computer camps. The computers were also made available for individual use.

A campaign to involve residents in the newsletter resulted in the inclusion of diverse and sometimes controversial opinions. Both young and old are represented in the newsletter, which often includes the work of Native Hawaiians.

MIRA funding has strengthened the operability of the center and has increased the visibility of the center in the local community. The newsletter provides a much-needed forum for independent community voices and has increased the interchange among community residents, both native and non. Finally, the computer training has helped many students and adults gain employment in computer related positions.