“Preserve and Protect”: Dwayne Johnson Joins Hands With Thousands of Students To Secure the Future of Hawaii 5 Months After the Maui Wildfire

In the early weeks of August 2023, the Maui Island of Hawai’i was hit by devastating wildfires. This caused widespread havoc and many families were displaced from their homes. During these tough times, Hollywood star and philanthropist, Dwayne Johnson came in to help his hometown in the wake of this disaster. While the situation is much better now as compared to five months ago, Johnson announced a major initiative that would help the island better connect with the world.

Dwayne Johnson announces a new pledge for Hawai’i

Taking to his Instagram account on January 16, 2024, The Brahma Bull announced his allegiance to the “Pledge to our Keiki” written by the school students of the island state by the Kanu Hawaii organisation. He further mentioned, “They’re asking us to volunteer and engage to increase resiliency as we build momentum towards Earth Day on April 22nd.” Johnson mentioned that the initiative is to “preserve and protect the island and the culture of the island.”

The Non-Profit Organisation was started back in 2006 and has worked on various initiatives for the betterment of Hawai’i since its inception. The Pledge To Our Keiki initiative was started back in 2021 and was in partnership with the Hawaiin Department of Education. The initiative focuses on bringing awareness about Hawaiian culture’s most important aspect;  caring for nature.

Under this initiative, kids are taught that the land is not inherited by them from their ancestors. Rather, it is borrowed from their future generations. It also teaches us how to value the environment and consider it as a part of our family.

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Johnson has always been vocal whenever his motherland needed help. However, he received some unexpected backlash during the wildfire incident.

The Hawaii People’s Fund controversy

Following the destructive wildfire incident, Johnson decided to team up with philanthropist and television personality, Oprah Winfrey to urge people to donate to the people of the island. For this, the two had started a fundraiser called the Hawaii People’s Fund. While the two donated $5 Million each, fans reacted to it saying the stars should have given the idea a thought before asking for donations from the working class.

Weeks after facing the online backlash, Johnson opened up about the experience on Trevor Noah‘s podcast What Now? He stated that it took him some time to process the sudden online backlash. According to him, the backlash made him reflect on his decision and whether he was doing the right thing.

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