Reaching out to help Lahaina
Reaching out to help Lahaina
A daughter of Lahaina, now living in Sebastopol, contemplates the devastation and organizes to help the town that is a center of Native Hawaiian culture
Krista Sherer has lived in Sebastopol since 2015, when she became editor of the local paper here, but in her heart she’s still a daughter of Hawaii. She was born on Maui and her family moved to Lahaina when she was seven years old.
“My father was a commercial fisherman in the Lahaina harbor, and I attended Kamehameha Third Elementary School, which was right next to the banyan tree. I went to Lahaina Intermediate before I moved to the Big Island for high school. But I returned to Lahaina almost every summer as an adolescent and practically every year as an adult.”
Sherer, who lived through the wildfires in Sonoma County, was shattered as she watched another wildfire devastate her hometown, leaving hardly a house standing. She has many friends who lost their homes and businesses.
“The grief and loss that I feel is indescribable,” she said. “It's been hard for me to put into words. I couldn't even compare it to losing a loved one, like my parents. It was like losing a part of my being. The loss is profound. I'm beyond heartbroken.”
Sherer, who handled crisis communications for American Ag Credit during the Tubbs Fire, is familiar with what happens in the aftermath of a major fire. Yes, there is an outpouring of support, but there are also negative aspects as well.
“After the immediate response, there's an overwhelm of unneeded items,” she said. “There are scammers, and unfortunately what they're dealing with right now in Lahaina are land and water grabs.”
Lahaina has been a focal point of Native Hawaiian culture for hundreds of years. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and is the burial home of many Hawaiian chiefs. It has a large Native Hawaiian population as well. Now that heritage is at risk.
“The ultimate goal is to not have Hawaiian people displaced,” Sherer said. “We understand that very clearly as Sonoma County natives. A lot of people left, right? But this is a different experience. It's a cultural experience for the local and Hawaiian people. You know, without Hawaiians there is no Aloha. Lahaina is Lahaina because of the people. So it's really important that the sacredness of the people and their culture and their ways stays in Lahaina.”
Sherer is organizing a fundraiser, Love for Lahaina, on August 22, 5 to 7 pm at Gravenstein Grill, 8050 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol. Tickets are $30. There will be wine, beer, pupus (Hawaiian for appetizers), Hawaiian music and perhaps Hawaiian dancing as well.
The event funds will be funneled through the B-Rad Foundation, a Sonoma County 501c3 nonprofit with a branch in Hawaii. All money collected will be donated to The Maui Strong Fund, which allocates one hundred percent of the money donated to the people of Maui’s needs and focuses on the rapid response and recovery for those affected by the devastating wildfires on the island.
“It's really about coming together,” Sherer said. “You know, in Hawaii, food and music are at the heart of how we heal, how we grow, how we gather and how we connect and that is going to be at the heart of what we’re here to do.”
To buy a ticket for the Love for Lahaina Fundraiser, go here. Can’t make it to the fundraiser? You can donate directly here: Love for Lahaina. For more information, please contact Krista Sherer at krista@talkstorystrategies.com
