Lahaina Restoration Foundation receives $30K donation to support rebuild

The Lahaina Restoration Foundation has received a $30,000 donation from Bishop Clark Zenkyu Watanabe of the Koyasan Shingon Mission of Hawaiʻi and Rev. Takayuki Meguro of the Lahaina Shingon Mission to aid in the restoration of Lahaina’s historic sites damaged by the August 2023 wildfires, per an announcement Friday.

The contribution is part of a larger fundraising initiative launched by the Headquarters of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism and the Kongobuji Head Temple in Koyasan, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The initiative was launched in the wake of the wildfires and inspired by the Buddhist teachings of Kobo Daishi and the principle of “saise rinin” (“benefitting people by improving society”).

“We are very appreciative of this generous donation and look forward to the day when the Lahaina Shingon Mission and the Baldwin Home Museum can be rebuilt and continue to be mutually beneficial neighbors in historic Lahaina Town,” said Theo Morrison, executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

The Foundation said the funds will support its ongoing mission to preserve and restore Lahaina’s cultural and historical legacy for future generations.

For more information or to support the foundation’s rebuilding efforts, visit lahainarestoration.org.