Cesar lived in Lahaina with his family before the wildfires. On August 8th, he lost his home and escaped with his girlfriend and children through the brush and backroads of old Cane Haul Road—the same road that now provides access to Ka Laʻi Ola, Maui's largest interim housing development for wildfire survivors.
“Ironically enough, I live about 500 yards away from where I used to live,” Cesar says. “It's very symbolic that I ended up there and that I'm so close to home, in my new home.”
After settling into Ka Laʻi Ola as a resident, Cesar was offered an opportunity that changed everything. Kimo Carvalho, Chief Executive Officer of HomeAid Hawaiʻi, saw in him not just someone who had survived—but someone who could lead. He gave Cesar the chance to rebuild his life by helping others do the same.
“The people that we help every day, you literally see a weight lifted off their shoulders,” Cesar says. “When we give them keys and when we say welcome home, it's an immediate sigh of relief. Same thing when I got my keys.”
Now, as Director of Ka Laʻi Ola, Cesar helps others find stability in the very place where he began his own healing. His leadership comes from personal experience and is shaped by Kimo’s support.
“Kimo's unlike anyone I've ever met before,” Cesar says. “He is the definition of a leader. If I could take one thing away from this whole project, it's Kimo's mentorship. That is the most valuable thing for me. His hard work, his resiliency, his vision is being passed down to all of us.”
