de los Reyes-Tejada-Zamora-Agmata 'Ohana

8.10.2023

Hi friends and family.

As many of you know, the fire has leveled most of Lahaina town and destroyed many homes. Like many others, my family and relatives' houses have been affected, their homes destroyed and burned to the ground. They have nowhere to return home after “everything goes back to normal.” It could take years to rebuild.

I grew up in Lahaina, and most of my family lived in Ka'akolu Street and some in Waine'e Street. Currently, I am living in Manoa, Honolulu. I am gathering funds on behalf of my family to get back on their feet. Please consider donating. Your donations will be used for their necessary expenses, such as housing, medical, and food.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you so much, and please keep my family, the whole of Lahaina Town, and Maui in your prayers!

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Update 8/17/2023

Just wanted to share a little bit of stories about my family-

Like many other Filipino families in Hawai'i, my family migrated to Lahaina many years ago. We were all petitioned by my grandfather (RIP Ama! <3), who worked in the pineapple fields and Kapalua. My aunt (my mom's older sister) and uncle bought and built their home and welcomed her sisters and brother to live in her house. When we moved in, it was already a big multi-generational family home. The upstairs unit was where my aunty, her husband, and their two kids lived; the Agmata's. Two separate families were living downstairs. So the house was packed, always alive, and loud. When my family moved into the house, an extra guest bedroom and study room were upstairs.

My aunty kindly housed three additional families from 2004 - 2005. My mom's second to youngest sister and her family moved to Lahaina first in December of 2004, the Zamora's. My family was next, and we arrived in Lahaina on April 2005, Tejada's. Then their brother (RIP Uncle! <3) and his family followed; de los Reyes'.

I was nine (9) years old when I moved into that house. I didn't understand much then, but I was happy because I got to hang out with my cousins. Like most immigrant family stories, we all shared the upstairs unit. Four families, four bedrooms, three bathrooms. There were at least four of us sharing a bed. My mom and her sister slept on a futon on the floor, some were in the study room, and others slept in the living room.

Eating together was the best part- breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Someone was always cooking, and no one went hungry. We would either gather in the dining and living room or bring our cooked meals downstairs and eat there. The house was never quiet.

Going to school was also another great memory of living in that house. My uncle would drop us off at 7 am in their 4-Runner. There were eight (8) of us getting dropped off. The car was overloaded to where some cousins sat in the back. My younger cousin and I were dropped off at Princess Nahi'ena'ena, a cousin at Lahaina Intermediate, and the other cousins at Lahainaluna. Heading home was also memorable as we would all wait for each other and walk down together. This was pre-Lahaina Bypass. We walked through the neighborhoods, stopped by if we saw the shaved ice man truck, then headed home. The older cousins would cook for us, and as an afterschool treat, we watched The Last Airbender together in the living room until our parents came home from work and they needed help carrying their "gargarut," aka things upstairs.

Ka'akolu Street holds a special place in my heart. That hill gave me the courage to "bomb dat faka" / "bomb da hill" or skate down the hill without fear. I had a successful ride down until I hit a rock. I rolled down, skidded my knee and elbows, and my big toe was scratched so badly that it almost shaped like a right triangle. LOL.

Those memories are just a smidge of what we had in that house and Lahaina: so many stories to be told, so many stories to remember and to keep with us.

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8/21/2023 - From my younger cousin's perspective: memories she will never forget.

Home is where the heart resides, they say, and for me, that place was 583 Kaakolu in Maui Lahaina. It was more than just bricks and mortar; it was a sanctuary filled with cherished memories. However, in an unforeseen turn of events, our beloved home was engulfed by the unforgiving wildfire that ravaged Maui Lahaina, leaving us with nothing but ashes and memories.

583 Kaakolu was more than just an address; it was the epicenter of our family’s life. Nestled in the scenic beauty of Maui, it stood as a symbol of comfort, love, and belonging. The lush greenery surrounding our property offered a sense of tranquility that is hard to find elsewhere.

Our home was not just a structure; it was a canvas on which our family painted the stories of our lives. From birthday celebrations to lazy Sunday mornings, every corner of the house held memories that were etched in our hearts forever. The aroma of mom’s cooking in the kitchen, the laughter echoing in the living room, and the warmth of the fireplace during cold winter nights – these were the moments that made our house a home.

Here I share with you some funny memories that I’ve had in the house growing up:

When I was six years old, I used one of the landline phones and dialed “911” because I saw it in the phone book/ yellow pages and didn’t know what “911” was. The cops pulled up to the house, and they thought it was an emergency, but it wasn’t. At six, I was scared for my life.

There’s this one time I yelled at Ivy’s ear, and she got mad and told her mom. Aunty came to me and told me not to do that again, and Ivy and I didn’t talk for a week.

The house has a significant amount of slope from the road and the garage. I remember playing volleyball, I was at the bottom of the slope, and as I dove for the ball, I scraped every single one of my knuckles. Never played it again for a while.

That house gave me a lot of cuts and bruises by riding a skateboard, and Heely’s down the hill. and there’s this one time where rocks got caught in my shoes, and I scraped my knees, elbows, you name it. I cried all the way down, walking back to my house.

When I was pulling Ivy's leg, she accidentally kicked me in the face, and I hit the sliding mirror door, and we had to tell our aunty that one of her perfumes dropped on the glass.

This one’s a funny one. When my cousins could drive to school, we carpooled every morning in this silver Kia sedan; there were six of us in the car. One morning, when everyone settled in the car and was ready to go, some of my cousins started sniffing, and something smelled so bad that we couldn’t determine who had brought the stench inside. Until I looked down at my shoe and realized that I did... I STEPPED ON DOG DOODOO. My cousins started to yell, "nagbangsit!" "omg, that is takki inside my car!" Ask your Ilocano friends what those words mean. My older cousins told me to get out of the car, and I had to rinse my shoes. I insisted on wearing the same shoes because I hated wearing slippers to school. We went to school late that day. Until now, this story has come up, giving everyone in the family a good laugh every single time.

I can go on with all the memories I have of that house. It was not just a house but a testament to the bonds of family and the resilience of the human spirit. The wildfire may have taken our physical dwelling, but it could never erase the love and memories that made that place our home. Through loss, we discovered strength, and through adversity, we found hope. While we’ll forever grieve the loss of our house in Maui Lahaina, we carry with us the enduring spirit of 583 Kaakolu, a place where our hearts truly resided.