The island of Maui has burned like never before in its history and has razed trees, houses and lives. Hawaii watches in despair as its historical and cultural heritage, centered on the ancient capital of Lahaina, vanishes and is turned to ashes. The flames of the deadliest fire in the United States have claimed a hundred lives and there are still many missing to be found. Something that contrasts especially with what the islands have meant mentally and sentimentally for millions of Americans for decades, especially for the wealthiest: a paradise where to spend seasons of rest, removed from the madding crowd. That is why many of them turned from the first day with those affected, and now Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson, known as The Rock, have materialized that help by creating a fund and contributing 10 million initial dollars.
That contribution (of, in exchange, 9.2 million euros) is just the beginning of what the presenter and the actor intend to raise through this so-called People's Fund of Maui, to which they encourage everyone to donate what they can so that it goes directly to the inhabitants of the island. So direct that they promise that anyone who requests it and meets the requirements can receive $ 1,200 per month (just over 1,100 euros). Petition forms are open as of this morning.
More information
The fires on the island of Maui (Hawaii), in pictures
La Roca, 51, and Winfrey, 69, have communicated the creation of this fund through a joint message on their Instagram accounts, where she has 23 million followers and he no less than 390, which makes him one of the most followed people of this network worldwide. "In recent weeks I have been meeting with people in the community who have suffered in the impact of the fire, asking them what they needed most and how I could be of help," said the presenter, actress and producer in the joint statement released by both stars. "The most important thing that has come to my ears is your concern about how to move forward under that immense financial burden." Hence, they have decided to distribute that money directly.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Oprah (@oprah)
In addition to their contributions, in just eight hours they have managed to raise more than 400,000 dollars, about 370,000 euros. They claim in their joint video that the idea came to them when, worried, texting each other about how to help, Oprah discovered that singer Dolly Parton had given money "directly to her community," and decided to follow that example. "That direct will go to one of the many affected residents, we guarantee it," she says, while the actor explains that there are many people who have doubts that the monetary contributions reach their destination. "In disasters like these, the first need is money," say both, and they, well-known faces, want to be guarantors that the shipment is correct.
Both The Rock and Winfrey have strong ties to Hawaii. The actor of the Fast & Furious saga is a lover of the culture of the archipelago and married in it in 2019 with his girlfriend, Lauren Hashian, with whom he had been dating for 12 years and with whom he has two daughters, Jasmine and Tiana. The actor has a foundation since 2006 with which he helps terminally ill children and is a great philanthropist: he has helped hospitals, universities, in natural disasters, abandoned animals or, more recently, striking actors. In Hawaii he had already given large amounts of money to create a gym on a military base and to help in hurricanes. For her part, Winfrey has a house on the island where she spends long periods and from the first moment she was determined to broadcast many hours of television about the fires, although she was not always well received in the facilities from which she wanted to make her program, where there were people in vulnerable situations and who had lost everything. The TV star has a huge farm on Maui about 3.5 kilometers in the Kula area in the center of the island.