KA'U LEARNING CENTER

    Charlene Hart, head of the Ka`u Learning Center in Na`alehu was publishing a newsletter, the K`au Connection with the support of Lili`uokalani Trust and Hilo Community School for Adults. The MIRA funds allowed her to continue the newsletter for a while. It filled a need for local news in a place with no radio station or newspaper with local coverage. It served as an important medium to publicize a mix of commercial, political, and community activities including other MIRA projects such as the public computer centers or reverse mentoring labs. The idea was for students to use educational computer games to upgrade their reading, writing, and math skills and then mentor adults in the evening. Public computer labs also known as telecenters or community technology centers have been a very popular model in rural and urban areas of almost every country in the world.