About The Lokahi Project
Vision
Our Project vision is to eliminate homelessness and promote community development in Hawaii and elsewhere.
Mission
Our mission is to provide affordable housing to the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless, through owning and upgrading low end housing, providing jobs, training and life skills to individuals and families at risk.
Lokahi in Hawaiian means unity, harmony and interconnectedness between people, land, and spirit. It is central to Hawaiian culture and promotes balance and cooperation. We at The Lokahi Project seek to promote these ideas in a community where we will help one family at a time with their home and their life and employment skills. When you do anything with the The Lokahi Project, we consider you a Building of our community. The Projectʻs Builders have a stronger foundation for their lives and their families. Through this solid foundation, we all benefit with a stronger community.
The world has changed trimendously in the last 50 years. The gap between a simple wage and the typical cost of living has virturally disappeared. If you were around 50 years ago, you remember a simple janitor at our school. He worked full time and was dedicated to his job. He was quiet yet dependable. He and his family attended games and other extracurricular activities for the school. He also owned his home, owned his car, and went on summer vacations. His wife did not work outside of their home and focused to raising their children. While it was a simple life, it worked. He did all of this on the wages of a school janitor. This kind of life is not possible today. A single modest wage like this would not sustain a family in the same way as 50 years ago.
60% of America lives paycheck to paycheck. We currently talk about the health of consumers in terms of their income. When their income goes up, they are doing great, but when we talk about how well companies are doing, we talk about their profits. If the companies income goes up, they are doing well. If their income goes down, they are not doing well. This is not a fair comparison. Consumer income roughly translates to corporate revenue. To be fair, when we talk about profits for companies, we should compare that to the increase in net worth of consumers. The total net worth of consumers in the bottom 50% of America adjusted for inflation is tiny, and as a percent of total net worth in America is getting smaller by the day.
The Lokahi Project can not change this trent, but with the help of builders from around the world, we can make a difference, one family at a time. We ask that you either become a builder today through the Donate page, or reach out to our CEO Jason VanHavel (contact information below) and find out what possibilities we can create together.
Our Leadership
Speaking of Jason, our Chairman and CEO is Jason VanHavel. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration. He has about 30 years of management experience including titles of VP of Business Development, Director of Operations, Chief of Transportation Multimodal Planning, and Public Works Director. He contains a wealth of knowledge of economics and leadership. We are so happy to have him with us. He is dedicated to bringing The Lokahi Project to the world, one family at a time, starting here in the Puna District of Hawaii. Become a Builder today by reaching out to him.