Maui
As some of you may know, I was recently part of the Maui Bodywork Brigade—a group of 11 of us from the mainland who went to Maui to use our healing skills to support people impacted by the Lahaina fires last August. To say that this was a life-changing experience is an understatement. In these days of so much crisis and need around the world, it felt good to be able to help people, face to face. We watched the transformations as people came in desperately exhausted and anxious, and left brighter and more relaxed. It was challenging and it was a joy, simultaneously.
You probably heard about the fires in Lahaina last summer. They burned hot and out of control and when they were finally out there were about 100 deaths and an area equal to the size of Bexley and Grandview OH combined was completely devastated.* It was the deadliest fire in the US in modern history.
4 months later things are not OK for the residents and it looks like it will still be years before any sense of completion and closure (if ever) will come. Many people are still sleeping on the beach and are looking for non-existent housing. Some are choosing to leave the island after 5-6 generations of living there. People are heart-broken, shocked, angry, discouraged, and exhausted. Even the helpers are burned out. Hence the need for the Bodywork Brigade.
Immense thanks to Tracy Griffiths, the Essential Oils senior teacher for UZIT and a good friend. Her sister lives in Maui and Tracy understood how much help was needed. She was our organizer and fundraiser extraordinaire. The thought of having local people on the ground who knew us and what we could do excited me, and I immediately signed up. She brought a team of bodyworkers from her school, Life Energy Institute, and she gathered a number of UZITs from around the country as well.
I met a young man on the plane from LA to Maui who was interested in what we were doing. In an amazed voice he asked if we could really heal the depth of a person’s trauma in a 60-minute session. I laughed and said of course not. But there were things we could and did do. First, we listened to the many people who shared their grief, anger, and despair. Since everyone on Maui was affected in some way, it was important for those of us who had not been there all those months, to simply bear witness to all they were feeling. Then, based on what they told us and what they wanted from the session, we went to work. Some folks needed to relax and rest deeply. Others missed their normal level of energy and their eagerness for the work they used to love. None of them were sleeping well and 100% of the people I worked with had painful neck and shoulder tension, among other issues. Some couldn’t even imagine feeling better and came out of a desperate fear that they would never feel OK again. Many had lost everything, including family members, and others felt guilty for wanting our help because they had only lost half of their lives. Others were the helpers who knew they now needed support if they were to keep going—which they very much wanted to do.
Our Brigade offered both UZIT and Polarity and Cranial Sacral Unwinding Therapy. As UZITs, we gave people from Maui mindful movements, Reiki, essential oils, and guided meditation. We gave them simple homework and we gave them the fullness of our hearts. Some of them came back several times during the week and we could see a wonderful progression each time, as if they were coming back to life. They brought their partners and friends, and some brought their children. We offered them some calm in the chaos of all that was around them, and they breathed it in and were nourished by it.
I remember one man who we befriended on the plane to Maui. He came for a session the first day and worked with one of my colleagues. He left smiling. The next day he returned and worked with me. He told me that that day was the first time he had the nerve to drive by Lahaina since the fires. He was absolutely devastated by seeing the destruction but was able to do it since he knew we would be helping him afterward. He was broken-hearted and he was so brave. After our session he was very relaxed, and he cried unabashedly at the losses that he and the whole community had experienced. Then he smiled in gratitude and left. He said he would not be driving past Lahaina on the way home but would try again later in the week. I teared up at his courage and sweetness.
Another couple had a music school with the goal of teaching every child on Maui to make music. They had created a nonprofit so that with support they could teach kids regardless of their ability to pay. Their school burned down in the fire and just before we arrived (4 months after the fire) they had found a new place to teach from. I could feel the dedication in their hearts despite the heavy losses. When I was done working with the wife for her second visit she looked at me with a shining and glowing face and said, “I can feel my inner radiance again. It’s been such a long time.” Her whole being was bright at that point and I knew that as she went back into the world, her light would make a difference to her and anyone she encountered. Her burden was lifted, if even for a short time. That made all the difference.
On another day I worked with an older woman who had come into the place we were offering sessions to meet with someone else totally unrelated to what we were doing. We talked as she was waiting for her meeting and she got a sense of what we were doing. She was raising money to give art supplies to children. When she came back later for a session, she felt a little guilty for taking a spot because she hadn’t lost everything as so many did. As she shared more it was clear she did need support. She had moved to Maui just before the fires and the work she was planning to do never happened. She was unmoored except for the art project she had taken on. As we worked together it turned out she had lost everything in a fire many years earlier. Now that she was in Lahaina she was triggered every day by loud sounds and sirens. She was not ok at all and she was grateful for the practices I offered. As with so many others, she rested well for a time and then felt better able to move back into the world.
Toward the end of our stay, I started asking the local people what they wanted me to share when I returned home. They were so so grateful we had come and were glad we would be sharing what we had experienced. 100% of the folks I asked said that the Number 1 way to help is to come to Maui. Come to Maui and spend your money, especially in the locally owned shops, restaurants, and housing. They acknowledged that there had been some mixed messages after the fire, but as a tourist-based economy, they need our support. Some folks from W Maui request that we not go there as local people are still staying in the hotels and rentals. I’m including a list at the end of some of the places to donate if you feel so moved.
My colleagues and I debated about whether or not to share the few pictures we took. Though we drove by Lahaina going to and from our sessions each day, it was honestly too much for our minds to take in, even as we saw it. Huge swaths of the city have been bulldozed and all that remains is bare ground and piles of rubble. Other areas have yet to be razed and are ghostly reminders of the total destruction of the fire. As we drove by, sometimes we cried, sometimes we kept silence, other times we chanted sacred songs. Our hearts felt the suffering of so many. Instead of posting any pictures here, you can look up pictures online if you like.
*NOTE Because it seemed overwhelming to imagine the area of destruction, I took the square mileage of area burned and figured out what that would mean in my own town. That helped me visualize the huge area of loss. Try it in your own community—area burned was about 3.4 square miles.
HOW TO HELP:
Organizations that don't have large overhead charges and go directly to people impacted:
Hui No Ke Ola Pono https://hnkop.org/ This is a health clinic for Native Hawaiians, but they don't turn anyone away. They offer medical services, prescriptions (free), mental health and traditional healing modalities among other programs. They are an exceptional group of people and have been at all the shelters and central locations providing services when needed.
Maui Economic Opportunity: MEO is a fantastic group - they focus on the marginalized parts of our community and are working hard to get people with special needs and on the edge of poverty who have been fire impacted. They have secured grants and are taking donations to help with rent, housing, job searches/fairs, transportation, etc. They are a terrific organization and are working hard to keep people off the margins on the island.
Rotary Club Maui Fire Fund - this has no admin fees and they have done amazing work. They are regularly taking grocery/gas gift cards (about $20k at a time) to distribute to impacted folks regularly. They are also focusing on offering vocation training in the construction industry to help prepare for the already short supply of plumbers, electricians, contractors on island.
Lahaina Keiki Relief Fund - this is a group that is fantastic and they collect donations for all things kids. They post a list near the door so you can drive by and see what's needed that week. They can use most everything from clothing to balls of any kind to surf boards for kids. Any donations are welcomed. https://mauinow.com/2023/09/14/volunteers-turn-former-kihei-radio-shack-into-distribution-hub-for-lahaina-keiki-relief-fund/ QR code for donations in the article.
Volunteers transformed the former Radio Shack at Azeka Shopping Center in Kīhei into a well-organized distribution hub for clothes and goods for children, from newborns to teenagers.
The Maui Food Bank is now the central source for food World Central Kitchen was here through October working with the Chef Hui on island and they did about 9,000 meals a day.
The above was written by one of the women we worked with. I also heard that The People’s Fund of Maui, set up by Oprah and Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) has been very helpful. Their goal is to give cash to every person over the age of 18 who was displaced by the fire as long as the fund has money in it.
For one of my biggest events of the year, the New Year’s Day class, I will be donating 100% of the proceeds from that class to programs supporting Maui residents.
