Two years after the Maui wildfires, recovery is still unfolding. Some families are rebuilding their homes. Others are living at places like Ka La‘i Ola while they wait for the chance to return to their land. Too many are still displaced and searching for stability.
The wahine in this round-up show us recovery through their own journeys. One rebuilt her business from a tent after losing everything. Another found the courage to move her children back home after a year of uncertainty. Their stories remind us that recovery is not only about housing, it is about people rebuilding their lives and carrying community forward.
Chiara’s life is rooted in Lahaina and in music. Her small studio beside the house was where she wrote, sang, and found her voice. The fire took it all in one day. Her home. Her instruments. Her town.
Her family turned to Ka La‘i Ola in the aftermath. There they found shelter and stability, enough to begin imagining a future again. That time gave them the strength to rebuild. They became the second family to move out, returning to their own land in Lahaina to start again.
Music has carried her through it all. Writing and composing helped her through grief and reminded her of her own purpose. Today she is creating again, holding to the belief that music can bring healing to herself and to her family.
Nicole lost her home in the Lahaina fire. What followed was not only the grief of losing everything but the heavy weight of a mortgage on a house that no longer exists. Like many families, she and her husband still had jobs, their children still needed stability, but the numbers never added up. They could not afford rent, they could not rebuild, and they could not buy another home.
At Ka La‘i Ola they found a place to breathe. For a year they would not have to carry the burden of rent on top of a mortgage. That time gave them a path to save and to plan. It gave them the chance to think about rebuilding without another crushing loan.
Nicole has used this time to steady her family and focus on the future. The loss is still present, but so is the determination to start again on their own land. Ka La‘i Ola gave her family more than shelter. It gave them the stability to keep moving forward.
Zoe was born and raised in Lahaina. After the fire, she and her family left for the Big Island, unsure if they would ever return home. The cost of housing and the uncertainty of what lay ahead made it nearly impossible to come back.
Ka La‘i Ola opened that door. Moving there gave her family the stability they needed, and the chance to return to the community they love. The space is smaller than what she was used to, but the light, the neighbors, and the sense of belonging made it feel like home. Her children thrived, and she could begin to breathe again.
Through it all, Zoe continued her work in marketing and social media. Her company’s commitment to community gave her a purpose beyond just earning a paycheck. It allowed her to contribute, to be creative, and to stay connected to others who were rebuilding as well.
Zoe says without Ka La‘i Ola, her family would not have been able to return. It gave them more than a place to live. It gave them a way back to Lahaina and the possibility of rebuilding their future on their own land.
Iuni is a mana wahine. With her husband, she founded South Pacific Island Art to keep alive the knowledge of the seven Polynesian nations. The carvings and stories they create are more than art. They are the history of a people who once had no written language, a truth carried forward from generation to generation.
The Lahaina fire took their gallery and all they had built. They tried to begin again on the mainland, but the distance from their materials and their roots made it impossible. For years her husband carved beneath a tent while they lived with uncertainty. What carried them through was their commitment to preserve the art of their ancestors.
At Ka La‘i Ola they found a place to call their own. They found the chance to breathe and begin again. That stability gave them the strength to return to their work.
Today, Iuni stands in her purpose. She is not only rebuilding a business. She is carrying forward culture. She is helping to restore Lahaina.
Kauilani was born on Oʻahu but has called Lahaina home for more than 20 years. It is where she raised her four children and built her life. The fire took it all in an instant. With no FEMA assistance, she spent a year moving from place to place, from the Westin to Kā‘anapali Shores, searching for stability for her family.
That stability finally came at Ka La‘i Ola. Having a roof and a safe place for her children gave her space to regather her strength. Even in the midst of loss, she has held fast to resilience and to hope. As she says, “We gotta holomua and stick together.”
Her words are now encouragement to others still waiting for a home at Ka La‘i Ola. “Don’t give up. Just have faith. It will happen.”
These journeys show us that stability is what turns survival into recovery. A roof, a safe space, and time to plan create the conditions for families to stay and grow in Maui.
This is why we build with values. When we invest in people, we keep families together. We keep community together. And that what makes Maui.
