Photo courtesy of Hui No Ke Ola Pono. Retrieved from directrelief.org

Excerpt from directrelief.org

As the Maui wildfires grabbed headlines last summer and fall, a locally-based pharmacy team quietly went door to door in devastated Lahaina to ensure survivors had their medications after returning home. A Native Hawaiʻian safety-net clinic also operated a donation center and set up a discreet way for people to request help.

The Maui wildfires last August, which claimed the lives of 100 people, presented a series of tragic circumstances. However, healthcare professionals with deep roots in the community, none of whom had emergency response experience, refused to be deterred and responded to the specific needs of their patients. And they did so in a way that reflects the benefits of building trust and familiarity with the local culture.

“We know Hawaiʻians. Even if it’s free, no one is going to come in and just take. That’s not our style. If we have nothing to contribute, we’re not going to take,” said Mālia Purdy, executive director of Hui No Ke Ola Pono, one of five Native Hawaiʻian healthcare systems.

Purdy, a Native Hawaiʻian, said that setting up a way to get aid to the folks who needed it most was just one part of her organization’s successful response. Immediately after the shelter at War Memorial Complex was established, staff members were there daily, despite Purdy telling them they could take time off to address the losses so many of them suffered.

“I told them (staff) to stay home. They came in anyway,” Purdy said.