He came to Maui to find his granddad. He wound up giving out thousands in aid money
When wildfire burned through Lahaina, Kian Lutu got alarming news: his grandfather, a Lahaina resident, was missing. So Lutu jumped on a plane from Seattle to Maui, hoping to help. His granddad later turned up safe, but people who heard about Lutu's trip sent him money — and he was left to figure out what to do with thousands of dollars.
His story illustrates how communities and families have worked together in the weeks since a catastrophic tragedy hit Maui.
"Being Hawaiian, we have this word, kuleana. It basically means responsibility," Lutu told NPR. "It just felt like it was my responsibility, my kuleana to do whatever I can."
"My grandfather lives in Lahaina alone," said Lutu, 30. And as the magnitude of the fires became evident, his family wasn't able to get in touch with him. Earlier, his grandfather, who is in his 70s, had gotten in touch to say he was OK — but when conditions worsened and the cellphone network collapsed, there was no way to know if he was safe.
Then, days after the horrific fire, Lutu's grandfather, Gordon Kamakahi, drove up to a relative's house in Kahului, safe and sound.
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/06/1197667876/maui-family-missing-aid-donations
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