As I post this, the unprecedented fire in Maui that wiped out the historic town of Lahaina happened over one month ago. It has been horrific and heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the people and the land.

We are approaching our three-month anniversary of relocating to Oahu for my partner’s work. I have a whole blog written about what I learned in my first month on the island, but it wasn’t appropriate for that to be my first post.

The tragic fire has brought to the surface (just like COVID) all of how colonization and systemic oppression have harmed Indigenous Peoples and POC in our country. There’s currently a spotlight on this impact on the Hawai’ian islands, and rightfully so. I hesitated to move to Oahu because I didn’t want to contribute to the social issues. I also wanted to be careful not to romanticize living in Hawai’i.

So, I have been sitting with the discomfort of the reality that transplants are not always welcome with open arms and that many social issues have caused native peoples to these islands to leave their homeland such as tourism, housing, overpopulation, and over-development.

To add a layer of complexity, my partner works in the hospitality industry. It is our family’s livelihood and why we are here in the first place. He specializes in maintaining and overseeing renovation projects of large commercial buildings.

They attempted to recruit him various times to oversee different properties on different Hawaiian islands. We had refused every time except when Oahu was an option again, so we decided to consider this more seriously.

We both wanted this move to be in alignment with our family values.

My partner’s company offered us two outdated one-bedroom units to convert into one large space, in an apartment complex they own on the property. They don’t usually rent these units; the original landowner still lives in the building. Many residents work for the company or are the landowner’s family members.

The universe was making it impossible for us to turn this down again. We wouldn’t be displacing anyone or any family that has been in a home for generations but can no longer afford to be there because of the increasing costs of housing, which is the sad reality.

The only condition was that we were in charge of the renovations and maintenance, ultimately adding value to the building since the company had neglected the building for over a decade. My partner has made sure to work on updating things to make the building safer.

I wish to take some credit, but my partner has also made sure to advocate for and oversee projects that help reduce the carbon emissions of these giant buildings as well as promoting ways that the hospitality industry isn’t extractive by maintaining and retaining these properties so they do not cause more damage to the existing land.

Unfortunately, we didn’t learn anything regarding the history of Hawai’i in school. Still, we are committed to learning and contributing our skills to leave our new home better than we found it while we are here.

By sharing this, I want to create connections with other like-minded folks and show that people in these industries are doing what they can to make a positive impact, even if small, hopefully causing a lasting ripple. I intend to use this platform to share what we learn beyond trendy travel blog posts.

On a final note, we had the blessing to experience the beautiful historic Lahaina town and walk down Front Street in August of 2012 and again with our littles in November 2022. We went to Lappert’s for ice cream and checked out all the unique art galleries. We were on a mission to see the famous Bonsai Tree, but the kids became grumpy, so we had to head back to our hotel.

It will never be the same, and I can’t imagine the grief the Maui community has been feeling and will continue to experience. It will be a long process to rebuild. My prayers and thoughts are with them.

Please consider contributing a little bit to help. I will link a list of reputable foundations below.

The Maui Strong Fund

Maui United Way

The Kākoʻo Maui Fund