Brenda Plonis

Olivia Kemp is a celebrity in East Biloxi.

Perhaps it’s because everyone simply knows her as ‘Mom’. With 14 children and 25 grandchildren, her kitchen was a hub of activity throughout the years.
Or maybe it’s because her house became the miracle makeover in three weeks.

East Biloxi Councilman Bill Stallworth, founder of the East Biloxi
Coordination Center, sent Craig Snow to Olivia’s house to talk
with her – hoping that Craig and his team could rebuild the house, damaged during Hurricane Katrina.

Craig, Hope Force International’s Project Coordinator in Biloxi, didn’t have the heart to turn Bill down in public. He was trying to think of a way to let him down easily – after all, he was already swamped with houses he and his teams were trying to rebuild as fast as possible. He couldn’t possibly take on another one.

But once he came and talked to Olivia, Craig couldn’t refuse the job.

“I guess I charmed him into saying yes,” Olivia giggles.

A representative came as part of a ‘celebrity grant’, and they approved the house for the funding– so HFI had to rush the job to get the house done. While all of the people in the community whispered amongst themselves who the celebrity was, the grant receivers were sworn to secrecy.

Samaritan’s Purse and Hope Force International combined resources and efforts to gut, clean and rebuild Olivia’s home. Samaritan’s Purse started the project in 2005 by gutting the home out and when Hope Force International decided to repair the home, Samaritan’s Purse committed building materials to make the endeavor possible.

“I just don’t know what I would do without Craig and all that he has done… it looked like anything they could do to please me they did it… they improved a lot!” Olivia gushed.

“It was a miracle house because some miracle people came…” she concluded.

And while the community raves about the ‘mystery celebrity’ who helped Olivia, HFI knows who is the real celebrity in East Biloxi. One look at her brand new kitchen confirms that Olivia is still ‘Mom’ in the community.