JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Kanoe Kaneakua jumped for joy yesterday as brother Kalai took a nap at the family's new home in Nanakuli. The seven-bedroom home, made possible through Habitat for Humanity, will house the Kaneakuas, who had been homeless for more than a decade and lived on the beach at Mokuleia.

Habitat builds house for homeless clan

Mokuleia is no longer the address for the Kaneakua family, who now reside in Nanakuli

For 9-year-old Kawai Kaneakua, the only home he has ever known has been Mokuleia Beach Park.

Kawai, a fourth-grader at Waialua Elementary School, and his family will officially move into a house today, just in time for the holidays. His five brothers and sisters have also never lived in a house.

In a dedication ceremony at the 89-201 Nanaikala St. home, Habitat for Humanity Leeward Oahu will give the family of 13, which includes an aunt and four cousins, the keys to the quaint single-story, seven-bedroom house.

"I'm excited. It still doesn't feel real," said Kawai's mother, Rose Kaneakua, 28, who has been homeless since she was 14. Kaneakua has six children ages 2 to 10. Her sister Mahealani Keawemauhili, who has four children, ages 4 to 11, also will live at the house.

Hundreds of people volunteered every Saturday since last December to help the family build the 1,800-square-foot house in a Nanakuli neighborhood, said Habitat's Leeward Oahu Executive Director Susan Hughes. Habitat, a nonprofit Christian housing ministry, helps low-income families build affordable homes. Since 2005, Habitat Leeward Oahu has built four homes.

Volunteers came from a Canadian university, the local community and a Schofield Barracks church. The Kaneakuas also contributed a combined 500 hours of labor toward their house and another Habitat home.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Rose Kaneakua smiled yesterday while bringing groceries into her family's new home in Nanakuli. The house is made possible through Habitat for Humanity and gives the Kaneakuas, who previously lived on the beach at Mokuleia, a roof over their heads for the first time in more than a decade.

Last summer, the Kaneakua family approached Habitat for Humanity to build a house after learning that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands would take back the lease to a 7,700-square-foot property if it was not used.

Rose Kaneakua's father, who held the lease, gave it to her for the house even though he, his wife and other siblings still live on the beach.

Kaulana and Rose Kaneakua lived together at Mokuleia Beach for 10 years. Kaulana Kaneakua, who works nights delivering newspapers, said he has not been able to afford a place with his limited income and has watched his children come straight from the hospital to Mokuleia Beach Park.

"We have something to look forward to," said Rose Kaneakua. "We've been arrested for camping. Our things have been taken after arrest. There's been a few times we were left with only our clothes on our backs."

They would start over again, saving money just to buy a tent.

The new home with distant ocean views comes with kitchen appliances and a washer and dryer -- a treat for Rose Kaneakua. On the beach she drove five miles to wash clothes, spending $60 a week.

The Kaneakuas will now begin paying their first mortgage -- about $400 a month.

Rose Kaneakua said her children might not be able to grasp how much they are receiving this holiday season, but at least they will not suffer at school anymore.

"They can't tease us anymore, because we have a house," she said.

For Kaulana Kaneakua, he wanted the home mainly for his children's safety and stability.

"Our children have went through enough evictions to last a lifetime," he said. "No one can ever tell them to leave. This is what the house is for."

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM The family gathered to watch the 6 p.m. news, including Rose, right; her husband, Kaulana, left; and her sister Mahealani Keawemauhili, center.