A Victoria couple has put aside their plans for a romantic wedding anniversary holiday in Hawaii, using their expertise and contacts to get much-needed supplies to residents of Maui affected by last week’s devastating wildfires.
Pete Gill, the Lower Island regional director of Khalsa Aid Canada, was in Hawaii last week, setting up his daughter at the University of Hawaii. He and his wife Kimmy had also planned to stay for an extra couple of weeks to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
All their plans changed when news broke of the fires on Maui; that news came from Canada.
“We were in Waikiki and weren’t aware of the fire until people from B.C. started calling me,” said Gill. “A Red Cross worker I talked to, who was on Maui during the fire, said that the scenes of destruction he saw were best described as catastrophic.”
Gill put his holiday plans on hold to see how he and Khalsa Aid, an aid organization associated with the Sikh faith, could help.
He was told teams were already standing by in San Francisco and Seattle with shipping containers, awaiting info on what items to ship.
In the meantime, he went to Costco and Walmart, buying off-the-shelf personal protective equipment (respirators, heavy-duty gloves), dust masks, latex gloves, first-aid supplies, tents, blankets, sleeping bags, baby supplies and women’s hygiene items.
One of the items that there is a call for, but he was unable to fill, was body bags.
The two airlines still flying to Maui have waived fees for luggage passengers take on the flight. Planes leave every 15 minutes from Oahu for the 40-minute flight.
But before he booked his flight, he consulted with Khalsa Aid contacts living on Maui, mindful of how survivors might react to outsiders.
“He said that some locals on one side are asking for people not to come. Some, who survived by jumping into the ocean, are upset to see people in the water having a good time so soon after. Others say: Please come, as tourism dollars will help survivors pay bills and eventually help rebuilding. He said that it is a real conundrum,” Gill said.
Still dealing with the trauma of losing loved ones and property, survivors have also been beset with calls — from developers. “One person said that he got eight calls, asking if he was interested in selling his property,” Gill said.
He said that the local contact is offering him a place to stay and a place to store supplies, as well as use of a van to ferry the items where they are needed most.
Not wishing to get in the way of the major aid agencies but hoping to fill gaps in help to under-served communities, he has established contact with a small native-Hawaiian community organization.
He will assess the situation once he sets foot on Maui, finding out what is needed and determining which organizations are legitimate.
He is set to fly back to Victoria Aug. 25, but will stay longer, if need be. Kimmy, a provincial government employee, will remain in Honolulu to help organize from there.
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