Growing up in Japan, Mitsue Hosokawa dreamed of one day taking the simple drawings she rendered to amuse herself and turning them into something larger that would touch the lives of others.

But it wasn’t until Hosokawa moved to Hawaii to study economics at Kapiolani Community College and the University of Hawaii that she found a purpose and a cadre of like-minded friends that would enable her to make her childhood goal a reality.

This holiday season, children along the Waianae Coast who suffer from homelessness or live in unstable home situations are receiving the tangible results of Hosokawa’s vision in the form of a children’s book, "Ke Aloha Home."

Written, illustrated and designed by Hosokawa and her fellow students at KCC’s International Cafe program, the book tells the story of a little star searching for the meaning of home.

"I’ve had this dream since I was really little," said Hosokawa, 22. "As I grew older, I became more aware of children who live in poverty and don’t have homes. I wanted to do something for them to give them hope."

Earlier this year Hosokawa shared her idea with teacher Linda Fujikawa, co-founder of KCC’s award-winning International Cafe, a service-learning center that brings together students from around the world.

Fujikawa said the idea was in keeping with the International Cafe’s commitment to "compassion in action."

With Fujikawa’s encouragement, Hosokawa organized a team of fellow students to develop a children’s book that answered the questions, "What is home to children?" and "What is home to you?"

The students worked on the project through the summer and got a grant from the Honda International Fund to cover the cost of printing.

Student Keane Omaye-Backman designed the book and prepared it for printing, which was completed this month. The cover art was provided by Tammy Lau, a local watercolor artist who lives with cerebellar ataxia, a condition that impairs muscle control.

"I hope they’ll like it," said Lau, 34. "And maybe they’ll think about who made it for them."

The book, officially dedicated at a special event at Mouna Farm Arts and Cultural Village in Waianae on Nov. 10, is being distributed via Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center’s Native Hawaiian Traditional Healing Center, headed by the Rev. Kamaki Kanahele.

If all goes as planned, the book will continue to grow.

The last page provides space for children to draw their own vision of what home means to them. The students hope that future editions will include some of these new drawings. Students who worked on the project, including Sami Ulah of Pakistan and Hervido Kayley of Indonesia, also intend to solicit children’s drawings from their native countries to add to the book.

"I want them to feel comfortable wherever they are," Hosokawa said of her young readers. "I want to make sure that they never feel hopeless about their situation."