Kelvin Gamit and May Castillo

My wife (Jennifer Fuentes-Nguyen) and I (Thuc Nguyen) along with our daughter and 3 of her friends arrived on Maui the morning of August 8, 2023. This was our daughter’s senior year and she had planned this trip with her friends as a senior trip and a chance for them to celebrate their time together before heading off to their respective colleges. This was also our 20th anniversary that we were celebrating a few months early so that we could also be there should the kids need us. As anyone who has watched the news, Tuesday of August 8th was the day that fires started on Maui and burned down a large portion of Lahaina leaving many dead and thousands of people homeless. However, this is not about how our vacation was ruined or that we were inconvenienced for 4 days before we could leave Maui.

This is about 3 amazing people: Kelvin, May, and Tui. We arrived at the Honua Kai Resort and Spa with the power already down, along with internet, and cell service. We were fortunate to have stopped by Costco to pick up some water and a few food items before getting to the resort. The businesses on that side of the island were all shut down due to the power outage, so we relied on what food we had on hand to get us through the day. We met Kelvin, May, and Tui that day as they greeted guests and tried to provide what information they could about the outage situation. Due to all the services being down it was hard to get reliable information as to what was going on. We found out that evening that Lahaina had burned down along with the famous Front Street area. Among the homes that burned down was Kelvin and May’s home. Kelvin works as the valet manager and May is his girlfriend who happened to be there because Kelvin turned around that morning to pick her up because he was unsure of the fire situation. Kelvin and May left their home with only the clothes on their backs. Tui was security for the resort. Kelvin and Tui were the only 2 staff members on hand to support the whole Keona Tower of the Honua Kai Resort. Between Kelvin, May, and Tui they provided information, comfort, and what limited resources they had to the guests at the resort. We never saw Kelvin or May complain about the loss of their home or their situation, rather they were completely focused on the guests of the resort and making sure that they were ok. May has recently completed her education as a CMA and doesn’t even work for the resort. Between May, along with Kelvin and Tui, the lobby always had someone available 24 hours a day to answer questions and keep guests abreast of the ever-changing conditions. Even though Kelvin and May had lost everything they owned, and all they had to give was themselves, they gave and gave and gave. Over the next several days, as guests left the resort, everyone gave Kelvin, May and Tui a hug and thanked them for keeping everyone sane and not letting the situation deteriorate to complete chaos.

I am starting this GO Fund Me campaign to raise money for Kelvin and May so that they can start rebuilding their lives. Tui was fortunate and that his home was spared, but I do want to acknowledge his contribution in taking care of the guests. Kelvin and May do not know that I am starting this on their behalf, and I would like to surprise them with whatever funds we can raise. I want to believe that for people like Kelvin and May who are selfless, generous of heart, and kind to strangers should have kindness bestowed upon them in return. Donate if you can, any amount will be appreciated. Even if you are unable to donate, please share this with people you know. I believe that the actions of Kelvin, May, and Tui would be inspirational, and their story should be shared.

I would like to try and raise between 50K-100K. If for some amazing reason a larger amount than this is raised, I will work with other fund raising efforts to make sure that the rest of the money goes towards those that have suffered great loss to this tragic event.