Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson are launching the People’s Fund of Maui. The initiative is to help the victims of the Maui wildfires.
The death toll at present is at 115 as of August 31 with a significant number of people still missing three weeks after the fire in the town of Lahaina in Maui.
“Every dollar that you send is going to go into an account that goes directly to the people,” said Winfrey.
Winfrey and Johnson contributed $10 million and are calling on the public to contribute to the funds. The aim is to provide direct financial assistance to individuals and families who have been displaced and suffered from the wildfires.
Dwayne the Samoan
The fund aims to give residents above 18 in Lahaina and Kuala $1,200 a day to support their recovery. Those who want to contribute to the fund can log into to PeopleFundofMaui.org.
Winfrey is an old resident of Maui while Dwayne Johnson is of Samoan descent and has lived in Hawaii as a kid.
The search continues for victims of the wildfire with the current death count at 115. But it is currently not known how many people are still missing. As of Aug 24th, 388 people remain unaccounted for.
Officials say the responders are switching their search from recovering remains to removing hazardous waste and making the area safe for residents.
Darryl Oliveira, the interim administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency said, “We have wrapped up almost completely the search and recovery mission and moving into the next phase.”
Wildfire smoke is known to cause a range of health problems and the hazardous removal of waste material will be conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
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