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EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION
Air Date: Sunday, September 30, 2007
Time Slot: 7:00 PM-9:00 PM EST on ABC
Episode Title: (#501A/501B) "Akana Family, Parts 1 & 2"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

SEASON PREMIERE

"EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION" TRAVELS TO HAWAII TO REBUILD THE DILAPIDATED, SINKING HOME OF A SELFLESS FAMILY WHO HAVE OPENED THEIR HEARTS TO HELP THEIR POOR COMMUNITY

This season, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" continues its journey traveling all across America to build homes for families in the 50 states. Kicking off the new season, Ty and the gang travel to the beautiful island of Oahu and say aloha to the Akana family of Honolulu, HI, and renovate not only their home but the KOKA Family Learning Center, which they've run for over 11 years, in a remarkable seven days. The two-part season premiere of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" airs SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 (7:00-8:00 & 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Eleven years ago Momi Akana was a single mother on welfare who started the Kieki O Ka Aina (KOKA) Family Learning Center, a non-profit organization that supports the native Hawaiian community. In the early stages, Momi was using her food stamps to buy snacks for the center and all of her other resources to create programs for struggling moms and their kids, even sharing her home with KOKA; the top floor was dedicated to the center, and the family was crammed into two bedrooms downstairs. Just one month ago, KOKA moved out of the house after it received a grant to purchase property for a new center. However the property is in poor condition and there are a lot of repairs needed both on the new KOKA center and the Akana home.

Momi and her three children, Keahi (14), Kuulei (12) and Maka (8), tried to keep up with the house and make improvements on the little things, but they never had the money or the expertise to create and build anything properly, leaving their home filled with unfinished projects. In addition, a massive flood in 2004 washed away the majority of their foundation, leaving only a few pillars holding their house up. Momi now worries that it's only a matter of time before the rest of their home falls into the river. A year ago, Momi met Ben on a blind date, and they were married six months later. Soon after their daughter, Poli, was born with Downs Syndrome. Momi took this as a blessing and a sign, and created classes at the center for parents of special needs children.

The Akana family have shown an amazing amount of compassion for the entire community, while putting their needs aside. In this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," Ty and the gang will help transform the life of this very special woman and her family by giving them not only a safe and secure home to live in, but also KOKA, Momi's heart and soul, a safe and secure home to operate out of, allowing her the opportunity to transform thousands of other lives for the better.

This season "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will be going green on every episode by incorporating eco-friendly, low energy and recyclable sources in the builds. For the Akana family, the decking and railing of their new home will be made of composite recycled grocery bags, along with other plastic and reclaimed wood from furniture manufacturers in an approximate 50/50 mix to make decking materials. In addition, the wood used will not be from endangered rainforest trees, so as to protect these natural varieties.

While Ty and the designers, local builder Brookfield Homes and hundreds of volunteers and workers are rebuilding their home, the Akana family will go on vacation to Hilton Whistler in Canada.

The design team for this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will feature team leader Ty Pennington and designers Ed Sanders, Eduardo Xol, Michael Moloney, Paige Hemmis and Paul DiMeo.

The series is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It's executive-produced by Denise Cramsey. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. This program carries a TV-PG parental guideline.

This episode will be available on abc.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.

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