Help Lahaina Sisters Recover from Fire

Aloha,

Update: 8/17/23. We have met with FEMA. They informed us of our current housing is uninhabitable due to no electricity in that area. We have gotten a one-month stay at a hotel temporarily for now. Thank you to everyone who has donated their hard-earned money to help us. We greatly appreciate the help you have given.   We still need to see where we are at with permanent housing. It’s too early to see if we are temporarily or permanently displaced from our housing. We will continue to update you all. Mahalo again! 

My name is Kahealani Garcia. My mom, Kanani Higbee, and sister, Sonia Rojas made it out of the Lahaina fire at the last minute. Of the 45 buildings on our block (mostly apartments, but also 1 house and 1 historic building -- Seamen Hospital) only our apartment building and another building made it out intact. Unfortunately, we may not be able to inhabit it because it hasn't been determined safe yet. We are currently displaced from our home. We may not be able to make it back home because the apartment buildings have asbestos. Currently, we are couch surfing and living out of our car.

My sister Sonia Rojas would like to finish her senior year of high school at Lahainaluna High School. Please, any help will be used to help us meet our goal of staying in West Maui, possibly having to replace things we may not have access to that were left at home. It will help with living expenses until we can get some assistance or go back to work. Our mom's two workplaces are currently closed. We didn't lose as much as others, but we are still displaced. Thank you for your help. It is greatly appreciated.

Kahea & Sonia