Applications available for TOMODACHI Kibou Maui Cohort: program empowers students impacted by the Lahaina wildfires

The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i (JCCH), in partnership with the TOMODACHI Initiative and Odyssey Nature Japan, is accepting applications for the second cohort of TOMODACHI Kibou for Maui. The program aims to engage, inspire, and empower youth impacted by the Lahaina wildfires to lead the long-term physical, mental, and spiritual recovery of their community.

The program is open to high school juniors and seniors who were directly impacted by the Maui wildfires. Selected cohort members will participate in training sessions on Maui, followed by a week-long trip to Higashimatsushima in the Tohoku region of Japan. Cohort members will learn about disaster recovery, meet with students from Higashimatsushima, and participate in workshops led by local community organizers directly involved in the recovery efforts following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

“Our ideal candidate is someone dedicated to giving back to their community,” said Nate Gyotoku, president and executive director of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i. “The trip to Japan is a perk of participating in the cohort, but what cohort members will learn in Japan will shape their way of thinking for a lifetime. We hope that they see firsthand the resilience of other communities and be inspired to return to Maui, ready to make a difference in their own community.”

The first TOMODACHI Kibou for Maui cohort included 11 students from Lahaina who traveled to Higashimatsushima in March 2024. The JCCH is planning to take 15-20 students in July. 

“I expected to learn how the Higashimatsushima people responded to the disaster, but I didn’t expect there would be an emotional aspect,” said MJee Abara, a high school senior and first cohort member of TOMODACHI Kibou for Maui. “Speaking with survivors of the tsunami showed me the importance of talking it out with someone who experienced similar tragedies. Seeing them now, many years later showed me that even if we lost everything because of the fire, we can still recover and make a name for ourselves.”

Fully completed applications are due before 11:59 p.m., May 31, 2024. Visit https://bit.ly/kibouformaui for more information about the TOMODACHI Kibou for Maui program and to apply for the second cohort.  

TOMODACHI Kibou for Maui is made possible by the Government of Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the US-Japan Council, Charles & Mitch Ota Foundation, The Freeman Foundation and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i.