Now 10 days after the Lahaina fire, the devastation and suffering of thousands of lives is soul-shaking and heart-breaking.

I’ve been in touch with friends on Maui in these last days, getting first-hand accounts about what happened, and how the situation is now being handled by both locals and governmental officials and agencies. There are conflicting viewpoints about what happened and why, and the current status of things there on Maui.

In another post, I will address some of the facts, various theories and speculations about what happened. We all need to ask challenging questions to figure out how this disaster could have been prevented, and seek explanation about things that are anomalous and don’t add up with the fire and its official response.

This post is to honor the Hawaiian culture of Aloha, and to spread information on how people outside of Maui can donate money to immediately help in feeding some of the Lahaina residents who lost everything, and also feeding volunteers who are working long hours.

For many locals, Maui is not only regarded as the heart chakra of the Hawaiian Islands, but some say, the heart center of the planet. Lahaina was the original capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii (1802-1845) and is traditionally considered sacred land of Hawaiian royalty and the people. The small town of Lahaina (~12,700 population) has always been thought of as an indigenous Hawaiian town, beautifully representative of the Aloha spirit and its great heritage. Until August 8th, Lahaina was Maui’s most popular town to visit, and was regularly frequented by tourists from all over the world.

The native Hawaiians honor the sacredness of the breath, the prana — the “Ha” that enlivens all of us. The word, “Alo” means unity, presence, and can reference the front or our face. So, I think of “Aloha” as the Hawaiian namaste – recognizing the spirit, the “Mana”, the life force in each other, particularly during a greeting or a goodbye. In the highest sense, Aloha is a way of living in harmony with Nature and each other, treating all life with loving respect.

In this tragic time, the people of Maui have really stepped up for each other with so much love and aloha. According to Winsome Williams, one of our Bowspring teachers on Maui and who also helps run the La Kahea Community Farm, when FEMA showed up they were stunned on how the local community had already organized more non-perishable resources, bottled water, clothing, propane and gas, than the people knew what to do with. This was in spite of the roads to Lahaina being blocked off to the general public by government and police authorities until just a couple of days ago.

Winsome and her team at La Kahea Community Farm are harvesting organic produce and donating directly to those who are in need, as the volunteers who have been showing up day and night to help. Additionally, their “farm-taco concept”, Āina Tacos, @ainatacos has been using 100% of the donations they raise to set up pop-ups and give away fresh organic tacos to the people who need it most. You can make a donation via venmo — @whitney-cunningham-1.

Another grassroots community initiative that I recommend is Hungry Heroes Hawaii – Fire Response, who is using the donated money to buy thousands of pounds of produce weekly from local farms to help feed hundreds of homeless families who lost everything in Lahaina.

Here is a link to a GoFundMe account – https://www.gofundme.com/f/HHH-FIRE-RESPONSE

Please give generously.

Mahalo

Much love and appreciation for your good hearts. John & Desi