LAHAINA (HawaiiNewsNow) – Nearly nine months after the Lahaina fire, some survivors are now getting creative about how they want to rebuild their lives and their community.
Oahu native Max Louis created and posted a video to his social media page back in March and it quickly went viral. He knew at that moment he had the power to help Maui families.
“People and the rest of the world don’t really realize the things that people have faced here. I just had this moment where I was crying and praying like we gatta do something, like something big,” said Louis, founder of World Changers.
So, he is organizing an event this weekend called Lahaina Rise – a transformation and financial empowerment program.
“Let’s create a nation. Let’s create a world that works for everybody. Where everybody could feel like, hey, my perspective, my ideas matter. We matter, and together, we could make something that’s sustainable,” said Araceli Gomez founder of Leaders in Transformation.
Together, they are collaborating with more than a dozen world-renown life coaches and dozens of social media influencers to help 25 keiki and their parents heal and lay a foundation to rebuild by helping them become young successful entrepreneurs.
The goal is to raise $100,000 in sales for each family, $500,000 in donations, and invest and grow that amount to $2M so they can build a new home.
“It’s never been done before. We’re kind of in the unknown. But you know, we’re gonna give it our all,” said Pakalana Phillips, a Lahaina fire survivor and mother of six.
The Phillips ohana, a family of eight, lost their home in the Lahaina fire.
Amidst the ashes, Pakalana and her husband Kaleo see a bright future for their six children and the rest of their community.
“It gives me a chance to give back to the community that raised me, raised my parents, raised their parents, and generations,” Kaleo, a ninth generation Lahaina resident, said. “Give back and share and hopefully we can bring our community out of this.”
“Now is the time. Now is the time to rise,” said their 17-year-old daughter Hiilei. “Yes … the fires happen, and we have so much trauma and sadness. But now is the time that we rise as a nation, as a community.”
If you want to sponsor a child, donate, sign up, or learn more, click here.
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