After making the connection between the vog and my ill health things began to look up -- for me and for the Kahumoku program. I now knew that I needed to MOVE to Kohala. It was a stroke of good fortune that I already owned a place there. Although Kohala is only about an hour and a half commute I knew that I could not spend a lot of time in the Kona air. So in the spring of 2008 I began the transition. My luck and the program's luck was beginning to change. Daniel Benner stepped forward and applied for my job and I became his supervisor working "from home" as much as I could.

Daniel did a wonderful job for the next year. In March of 2008 another stroke of good fortune -- Hau'oli Mau Loa, a private foundation, approached us and asked to visit. They even offered us a stipend for "taking our time" to observe our program. Pictured above are left to right, Brant Chillingworth, of Hau'oli Mau Loa, Hannah Springer, on our advisory board, Art Souza, district Superintendent, and JoAnne Freed, director of Family Support Services. The students greeted the guests with an 'oli, hosted a luncheon, performed polynesian dance and sat on a panel to answer questions from the foundation about Na Kahumoku. As it turned out, their dream for Hawaii and its children and its environment is very close, if not identical to ours! We received word shortly afterward that the program had been granted $100,000 per year for the next three years!