anuheanihipalii is a great source for helping Hawaiians

“It’s so much worse than anyone knows.” My Maui hospital-worker cousin called to tell me, after her volunteer shift at the morgue.

That morning I woke up to the news that Maui was on fire, Lahaina was GONE(!?), and they were evacuating North Kihei — where all my cousins and nieces and nephews live. My parents have a house in South Kihei and they were off-island, so my cousins took refuge at their house until the Kihei fire was contained. I started breathing several sighs of relief once all my ohana and their homes were accounted for, when she continued…

“There are still bodies in the ocean right now.” At this point the death toll from the Maui wildfires was being reported as just six.

I’d never heard my cousin sound like this. I could hear the trauma of what she’d seen in her voice as she tells me about all the cell phones ringing from inside body bags. (I still can’t process this.)

We hung up and I felt and still feel so far away from Maui. Half an ocean away, to be exact, in Los Angeles. Although I’ve grown up and have lived my whole life in LA, my village is actually in Maui.

Yup, I’m one of those haoles (Hawaiian for foreigner, generally a white person — it’s honestly not a slur unless you’re THAT kind of haole) who claims Hawaii is their “second home.”

My kiddo is getting so much better at her shaka.

I spend almost all of my kid’s school vacation time there — visiting the grandparents, swimming with the cousins, supporting my nephew’s soccer team, doing yoga at my local studio, finally getting time to re-color my hair because it’s the only place where my kid can just run over to the neighbors house to play for a few hours, knowing she’ll be safe.

Once the shock of the news wore off, I realized that this was one of the few times in my life that I could actually give back to the island that has given so much to me in a really big way. While my village over there was suffering, I am sitting here surrounded by resources. And so are my fellow haoles.

If you’ve ever taken a trip to Hawaii, taken a sip of a Mai tai at the beach, taken in an unbelievable sunset from your lanai, taken a photo for social media, taken a snorkel trip to Molokini, or taken something from the island home with you… you need to give back.

If you’re one of those haoles that calls Maui your “second home,” or even if you’ve only vacationed there once, you need to give back now.

If you’ve ever used Maui as a playground, as a backdrop for content, as a venue, as a flex, as an escape, as inspiration, as a tanning bed… you need to give back.

If you’ve ever thought about moving there, if you looked into buying property as a joke, if you looked into buying property in all seriousness, if you bought property, especially if you don’t actually live there… you need to give back.

Right this minute is the rare chance for us haoles to actually help Hawaii rather than take.

And here’s how:

DONATE

Here are some local favorites:

Here is a link to a Google Spreadsheet of actual Lahaina fire victims and links to where you can help them out directly.

LISTEN & SHARE

If you don’t have money to give (and SO many of us don’t), you can easily search TikTok and Instagram for information from actual Hawaiians and locals. Every day they’re giving us updates and asking for what they need. Then re-share their posts, boost them, support as many you can with your eye balls.

VOLUNTEER

I live in Southern California and found a few places that are collecting physical items and flying them directly to friends and family in Maui. If you can find a place near you that’s accepting donated items, I suggest you contact them first to see what they need the most. At the moment it’s mostly camping and medical supplies.

DO NOT TRAVEL THERE

This past year Maui saw record-breaking tourist numbers. All while its resources are being depleted and its people are being priced out of places to live in their own hometown! And overnight the housing crisis just got so much worse as the few locals who did have homes no longer do. (My friend who grew up in Lahaina now has generations of family members who just became homeless overnight.)

And if you’re thinking “I went to Maui recently, so I already feel like I contributed to the island.” Think again, please. Your tourist dollars don’t go as far as you may hope it does in terms of helping actual locals. More than likely you put more money in the hands of large corporations and people who don’t even live on the island.

It’s time for haoles to help out. Muster up that same energy used to take what you needed and wanted from Hawaii in your best of times to give what it needs and wants in its worst of times.

Mahalo nui loa from one haole helping Hawaiians to another.