Support Lahaina Survivors: Trixy & Kooks

Aloha,

I would like to introduce you to a mother and daughter team extraordinaire. Trixy and Elizabeth Ku’umomimimakamae (Kooks) Nuesca-Ganer were both born and raised in Lahaina, Maui and survived the tragic Lahaina Wildfire. Their entire family lost everything in that fire; their beloved Uncle David Nuesca, Jr. (Uncle Jr) died from the fire, four homes (including their ancestral home) were lost, multiple jobs and everything they owned was consumed by the fire. Rebuilding their lives has been extremely slow and brought its own share of grief.

Trixy is the oldest child of the family and is a remarkable woman in all that she has accomplished. She made a successful career in the tourist industry which included dancing hula. She is also a very successful single mom to Kooks. Like so many others affected by this tragedy, Trixy and Kooks had a difficult time trying to piece their lives back together after the fire. The fire displaced them and forced them to move from Lahaina. This impacted Trixy’s ability to work her two jobs and she had to give up her job as the girls’ volleyball coach at Lahainaluna High School. The move also forced Kooks to leave Lahainaluna where she had been looking forward to graduating from her family’s alma mater and finishing her time as a member of the girls’ volleyball team. During this transition, Kooks had stopped playing for several months. Fortunately, she found the strength to play again and it helped her overcome the great losses she endured.

Because Trixy was the girls Volleyball Coach at Lahainaluna, when Kooks was little, she would be with Trixy at all the games and practices and learned to love the sport. Since the age of 9, she wanted to play and she wanted to play for Lahainaluna. When Kooks first decided she wanted to go to college, they both knew she would need to make it on a scholarship. Much of the hard work she has put into playing volleyball has been with that one goal in mind. As a result, she has become and outstand player. She is the only setter on her team and never comes off the court. She has qualified and played in the National Competition last year and they found a way to get her there even though she no longer had her team gear! Now, her team has qualified again this year, and they are going to Nationals! But Kooks won’t be going unless we help!

Trixy needs $7500 to cover the expenses for all the travel so that she can play in local, state, regional and national games. Remember, they are living on a small island and travel requires flying to all these games and it is extremely expensive. As a direct result of the fire, Trixy has lost a stream of income, her housing costs have sky rocketed and her travel back and forth to Lahaina on a daily basis is creating a huge expense. Now they are facing the threat of FEMA funding being pulled and rent extortion. But the biggest threat, is the potential loss of a scholarship and subsequently, the loss of a college education!

Let’s help this family get their lives back on track and help Kooks get her scholarship for college. Every penny (minus GoFundMe fees) goes directly to Trixy’s account and will help Kooks keep playing the sport she loves and in turn, win her a scholarship for college. Trixy and Kooks want you to know, every contribution, no matter how small, will make a significant difference in their lives and will be received with much gratitude and aloha. Your support means the world to both. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

#LahainaStrong #RisingFromTheAshes #MahaloNuiLoa