Kokua Maui: Updates from the Maui Wildfire
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Kokua Maui
Relief and Recovery Updates from the Wildfires on Maui
Hours after the news of Lahaina town’s devastation spread-out, the Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce (MFCC) led the initiative to establish a Bayanihan Fund. The Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (FCCH) and other Filipino Chambers statewide joined forces to help Maui and took the initiative to encourage other groups to coalesce. A coalition of organizations then agreed to work together to raise funds for the recovery and rehabilitation of Maui and raise awareness on the plight of the displaced residents. Lahaina town is the most affected where at least a third of its population are Filipino. The small businesses affected are also Filipino-owned. This is an update on these efforts and plans to rebuild and recover.
Join us via Zoom
Wednesday, Sept 6, 2023 • 4 p.m. Hawaii
Thursday, Sept 7, 2023 • 10 a.m. Philippines
Event will also be streamed live via Facebook.
Featured Panelists:
Rick Nava lost his residence and business last August 8 during the wildfires that razed Lahaina town. Owner of MSI Maui—a photo, video, and graphic design company, he served for 29 years in the US Army/US Army Reserve but retired in 2005. He immigrated from the Philippines in 1970, graduated from Lahainaluna High School and was affiliated with the Rotary Club of Lahaina since 1993, serving as its President in 2003-04, 2009-10 and 2017-18. He is currently serving as director of the Maui Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Board from 2019-21. He was a former Maui County Police Commissioner and West Maui Taxpayers Association (WMTA) Director since 2013 and President in 2017-18. Married to Rina Nava for 21 years, they have two children and four grandchildren--all of whom escaped the inferno that burned their home.
Vince Bagoyo, Jr., President of V. Bagoyo Development Group, LLC and Publisher of FilAm Voice has a long career in government, business, real estate development and consulting work. He served as vice president of Castle & Cooke on Lanai from 1993-2003 and as Maui Council Member from 1991-92. He also served as Director of Maui's Department of Water Supply from 1984-90 and as Director of the Department of Housing and Human Concerns from 1982-84. As President of the Maui Filipino Community Council in 1992, he advanced the planning and negotiations with A&B Corp. for the land donation where the Binhi at Ani was eventually developed and constructed serving as its first president. A graduate of Chaminade and the California State University at Long Beach, he continues to be active in different nonprofit organizations.
Angie Santiago is the current president of the United Filipino Council of Hawaii (UFCH) effective September 1, 2023. UFCH stands on the edge of history as it celebrates more than 60 years as the oldest Filipino American umbrella organization in Hawai’i. It was established in June 1959 at a convention and fiesta in Waikiki that marked the fruition of then Philippine Consul General Juan Dionisio’s efforts to bring together Filipino community leaders in Hawaii to form a Statewide Filipino Council. Its president, Angie Santiago is an HR officer at the City & County of Honolulu’s Equal Opportunity Office, Dept. of Human Resources. Born in Hagonoy, Bulacan, she is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1989. She will give an update on the group’s efforts and response to the disaster that affected many Filipinos.
Lahaina 7: In July 2023, the Hawaii DOE welcomed the first 74 teachers recruited from the Philippines to fill the hundreds of vacant positions in the public schools. Arriving with a J-1 visa classification, the teachers arrived as “cultural ambassadors” and were fielded in various locations statewide, with Maui County getting the most at 50 teachers. Seven of these were sent to Lahaina, who we’ve dubbed as the Lahaina Seven. All seven—Angelie Mae, Fritz, Jerome, Chopper, Maria Christine, Heidee and Maria Joy escaped just in time—and were also able to help elderly neighbors escape.
Paul Raymund Cortes is the Assistant Secretary for Migrant Workers at the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). He also served as Deputy Consul at the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu prior to heading the Philippine embassy in Dubai and Portugal. He received a bachelor’s degree in Math and Computer Science from the Ateneo de Manila where he also spent his high school years. He also received a graduate degree in Public Management from the University of the Philippines. He is from Baguio City in the Philippines and is married to Dr. Yasmin Balajadia Cortes
Moderator:
Kit Zulueta Furukawa immigrated to Hawaii in 2008 and worked for the private and public sectors (PBS Hawai’i, County of Maui, UH Maui College, etc.) before establishing full-time her own marketing and creative consultancy company—Kit Zulueta Productions LLC. She also launched the Mystery Maui Escape Room, and with her husband, Deron, ventured into the food retail business with Maui Chili-Chili Oil. Kit received her training in Film and AV Communications from UP Diliman and was recently awarded the Filipino Chamber’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2021, PBN’s 40 Under 40 Honoree in 2023—a few of her many community awards. She is a director at Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce, President of the Japanese Cultural Society of Maui and President-Elect of the UP Alumni Association of Hawai’i (UPAAH).
