Two Kona low storms, days apart, turned parts of Hawaii into disaster zones which affected communities are still recovering from and rebuilding. Survivors had their homes flooded, farmers’ crops ruined, cars wrecked, and in some cases their homes completely unlivable.
Hawaii’s Filipino community has leaned into their cultural instinct of “bayanihan” — people helping their neighbors in time of need – assisting in myriad ways like gifting direct funds to providing hot meals, transportation and childcare. Hawaii’s greater community – government, non-profits, civic organizations — has also come together in remarkable and charitable ways to help storm survivors.
The Hawaii Filipinos for Trust, Justice and Democracy, Hawaii Workers Center, Anakbayan Hawaii, Hawaii Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Filipino Association of University Women and Bayanihan Clinic Without Walls are just a few of the Filipino groups helping with the Kona low storms rebuilding efforts.
It takes stamina to recover from natural disasters. There is endless clean up, navigating to find government assistance and lots of paperwork, financial strain and in some cases financial collapse. What’s crucial is that people receive relief funds and assistance fast enough before worsening conditions take a toll. There’s also the emotional support that’s needed to get survivors back to normalcy. Simply calling in to check on neighbors’ well-being and listening to them can make a difference.
What can we do? Do the immediate work: donate to credible relief funds, volunteer where organizers ask and buy local as farms restart. Farmers on Oahu’s North Shore were hit particularly hard.
And government needs to do the harder work: fund mitigation, modernize drainage and stream capacity, strengthen emergency communications, and simplify aid so survivors aren’t forced to become their own case managers.
Helping farmers What farmers – many of whom are Filipinos — also need from our Filipino community is helping them navigate to find the various government assistance to get funds without attachments, funds as loans, the applications process and required documentations. Some farmers might also need assistance with translation to fill out forms and meet deadlines that various agencies set.
All of these would help immensely as farmers could spend more time working to save their crops and prepare for the next harvest season.
Farmers have expressed gratitude for the community’s help. Farmers say they’ve met with government officials at both the state and city levels, offering suggestions for long-term structural improvements to prevent future flooding. We hope these officials are taking those infrastructural suggestions seriously.
Why Bayanihan works Bayanihan is a proven strategy for getting through hard times. When people show up for one another, communities recover faster, fewer families fall through the cracks, and disasters don’t become permanent displacement.
Our Filipino bayanihan tradition also replaces the “shame of asking for help” often typical in western tradition. Our culture turns “charity” into solidarity — people helping because they belong to the same community and the same future.
The bayanihan spirit builds resilience and civic muscle. Bayanihan reminds us that strong communities are built in everyday choices: check on a neighbor, buy local, volunteer when asked, and share what you can. Bayanihan ultimately is neighbors acting as a strong and caring network.
We hope our Filipino community and greater Hawaii community continue to reach out to those in need caused by the Kona low storms. It’s common that immediately after a natural crisis, there is an outpouring of immediate aid, then quickly after people forget about the tragedy. But as government officials and experts say, this disaster will take months to recover. Let’s remember the bayanihan spirit and be there for our neighbors.
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