AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) —The wildfire that has taken place in Maui has caused the loss of many homes and lives. A local restaurant, Aloha Kitchen is doing its part to support those in Maui.

Lisa Rhodes is the owner of Aloha Kitchen and was also born on the Island of Hawai’i. Rhodes along with the Halua has decided to perform at the restaurant this weekend to support those in Maui.

“With everything that’s going on we, as a Halua, decided that any donations that we made today, or for however long into the future, we’ll be going to Maui as well as whatever other island needs to be rebuilt due to the fires,” said Aloha Kitchen performer Kassandra Peters.

Peters said that Hawaii is home no matter the island, so everyone wants to do their part to support those in Maui.

“So, Aloha Kitchen, and with our Halua, we are all about the aloha spirit, which is giving love to others and sharing the love. And the fact that Maui is going through so much right now it was important for us to share that with everyone else,” said Peters. “And in order to do that we had to enlighten, I guess you can say people on what’s going on as well as more about the island and the culture that we’re sharing.”

Peters talked about the dance that they performed and the meaning behind it.

“Talking about the beauty of the smell of the flowers and the wind, that although moves the palm trees it is beautiful. And the same thing with the wind. It’s Hawaii is our hearts. And that’s what the song was pretty much sharing,” said Peters.

Anakala (uncle) Lani Ahuna is a resident of Maui and said that he was able to leave the island before the wildfire but has firsthand experience of the impact that it has left behind.

“My sister contacted me and says my uncle’s home and my cousin’s home, they’re gone. Nothing, nothing. And there’s a historical banyan tree, the largest banyan tree in the world. It was also burned and the only thing that standing in Lahaina today is a church,” said Ahuna.

Rhodes said that a few of her relatives did have to evacuate the island due to the fires.

“So that was definitely scary for all of us, because we haven’t had wildfires. So, it’s very different to be in the middle of all that. So, for that, it’s definitely scary. We have one road around our island,” said Rhodes. “And so, when things happen like this, it really makes you realize how we have so many different routes that we can go to different places. But they’re really, I mean when you have that, it’s very different.”

Rhodes said that Hawaii is seen as a beautiful vacation destination for some but for many others, Hawaii is seen as home.

“There are people that have lived there for generations, just like Uncle Lani and his family and our family. And so, it does when they’re all affected by something like this. It doesn’t become a vacation destination or just a place to get married. It becomes something that it’s someone’s everyday life that they’re in shelters right now,” said Rhodes.

Rhodes said that during this time she has seen everyone coming together to support Maui and spread the aloha, and hopefully everyone in Hawaii can feel the aloha that is coming back to them.

Aloha Kitchen will continue to collect donations for the people of Maui until they decided there is no longer a need. Donations can be made during restaurant hours which are, Thursday-Saturday 6 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Aloha Kitchen is located at 18100 I-40, Bushland, TX, United States, Texas. To find out more about the restaurant visit their Facebook here.