In 2025, ESTHER International and Visa aim to launch the first pilot in collaboration with Maui Rapid Response, an emergency response NGO based in Hawaii, using the ESTHER platform to deliver financial aid via Visa cards to individuals and families whose lives have been devastated by wildfires.

Brown Kross Hui is one of several grassroots community efforts working on furniture donation.

Nicole Huguenin is co-director of Maui Rapid Response, another organization helping to coordinate deliveries.

“We've been told that the FEMA direct housing is supposed to provide, the landlord is supposed to provide the furniture, that doesn't always happen,” she said. “So the community also knows that they can call on us as well.”

They supply kitchen and bathroom essentials, beds, couches, tables — everything a family needs to settle in.

Along with getting calls from families in need, they also work with Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and other agencies to identify those transitioning to longer-term housing.

The Maui Rapid Response team is integrated, localized and community-driven – a lot like an ahupua‘a. “What’s cool about Maui Rapid Response is that it’s all run by our neighbors. That’s it. It’s run by aloha,” says Nicole Huguenin, who with her fellow co-facilitators, Kamiki Carter and Kainoa Horcajo, leads the organization.

Professionally, Huguenin is a former teacher and the founder/director of Share Circle, which diverts items away from landfills via upcycling and sharing. She explains that the roots of Maui Rapid Response took hold in 2019, when a collective formed to address the needs of the island’s unsheltered residents. The group further coalesced when helping those affected by the Covid pandemic and two floods in Ha‘ikū.

“Working on these responses, it became clear that we have to do things like have tool libraries,” she says. “We needed ways to practice trusting and interacting with our neighbors in a different way.”

It’s shower and laundry day at Holomua Road in Pāʻia, where nearly 30 Maui residents live unsheltered.

“Hey Danny, come on in, there’s butter rolls and sushi, and we got some cold water over there!” said Mōʻī Kawaʻakoa, as she welcomed residents to the tent. She leads a hui called Holomua Outreach that's been working to support the unhoused community there over the past year.

Once lined with piled-up rubbish, the road is now cleaner thanks to regular community cleanups by residents and volunteers. There’s a makeshift hub with donated food, water and supplies. Kawaʻakoa also connects residents to support services like SNAP, or food stamps, and helps them get state ID cards.

“What matters is breaking through those barriers,” she said. “Walking out of those facilities, successful that I got seven out of eight people their IDs. The whole community to come over here and shower and laundry, cleaning up the community, and connecting our sheltered community here, bridging that gap by cleanups.”

In Lahaina, the area in west Maui that is of historical importance to Indigenous people, entire neighborhoods were wiped out by this week’s historic wildfires, including the Na 'Aikane o Maui Cultural Center, which had a massive archive that was lost to the flames. We are joined by Noelani Ahia, a Kanaka Maoli activist, who describes the community's reaction to the destruction of Indigenous cultural documents, art and artifacts. “In the blink of an eye, it was burned to the ground, and all of those things were lost,” says Ahia. She also describes mutual aid efforts now underway and notes, “T​he people on the ground know what the community needs.”

The county has restricted travel and parking, but a volunteer outreach coordinator says they have nowhere to go.

Just before sunset Wednesday, Moʻi Kawaakoa walked along Holomua Road in Paia asking people living in tents, beat-up cars and under tarps how they are doing and if they need clothes.

Since starting Holomua Outreach in November, the Native Hawaiian also has set up a water station and resources hub, organized cleanups and answered “SOS calls” to help the homeless community that varies in size from 20 to 50 adults and pets — and includes her father and younger sister.

Nicole Huguenin, Founder and Co-Facilitator of Maui Rapid Response discusses Maui wildfire response.

Disasters often hit vulnerable communities the hardest, but grassroots leaders are stepping up to meet their unique needs. From providing essential resources to fostering community resilience, these frontline responders are redefining disaster recovery.

Tune in as these inspiring leaders delve into the challenges of identifying vulnerable populations, overcoming systemic obstacles, practicing self-care, and finding silver linings in the midst of crisis.

“Whatever people needed, everybody stepped up to make sure that needs were met to the best of our capability under horrific and insane conditions. And we can do it. There's no reason not to. It's not rocket science. It's just Aloha.” —Noelani Ahia

Disaster recovery is a grueling work that can quickly lead to burnout for even the most dedicated leaders. Taking regular breaks is crucial to avoid mental and physical exhaustion, yet many struggle to prioritize self-care amidst the pressing needs of their communities. Therefore, maintaining resilience requires intentional strategies to recharge and prevent compassion fatigue. In this discussion, Jollie sits with three bold disaster recovery leaders, Jacqui Jorgeson, Matt Henderson, and Noelani Ahia. Dive in as they share powerful stories, practical tips, and holistic approaches to help disaster leaders avoid burnout and foster post-traumatic growth within their teams and within themselves and their families.

“Ice cream! Come get your ice cream! Huuiiii!”

That’s the call of the Ice Cream Aunties in Lahaina.

Trinette Furtado sits on the back of her truck, announcing free treats on a megaphone as she does her weekly rounds through West Maui neighborhoods.

While Furtado dishes out aloha and ice cream for those of all ages, keiki can spin a wheel to win toys, snacks, sprinkles for their ice cream and other prizes.

Trinette Furtado calls families out for free ice cream as she and volunteers drive through Lahaina beach parks and neighborhoods, with the ice cream truck jingle heralding their arrival on a loud speaker.

Over the past year, Ice Cream Aunties has turned into something deeper than just a cold treat.