Xiomara Yamileth | The Garden Island
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LIHUE — Over the weekend, Kauai parents were diaper-wrapped in support after receiving complimentary nappies during the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (HMHB) event held at the Kukui Grove Center.

As the need for diapers grows, HMHB, in coordination with Aloha Diaper Bank, is stepping up and filling the need by extending its services to the Garden Isle. On Saturday, the Aloha Diaper Bank Maui team was present at Kukui Grove Center to address community questions and distribute diapers.

Maui Coordinator Kalai Asuela was all smiles while encouraging parents and their keiki to visit and collect diapers and essential baby supplies. She emphasized that the organization remains prepared to address needs effectively as demand increases.

“It’s been a true blessing; oh my, I am getting emotional,” Asuela said while her eyes teared up, “A little back story: on day two of the Lahaina fire, we were affected, and HMHB along with Aloha Diaper Bank responded immediately, with diapers, food, and water and to me they were the real ‘Red Cross’ so to be here today is huge for us,” she explained.

“The need is growing; things aren’t getting any better; they’re getting worse, but we want to fill that gap, she says. “We want to make sure every family has a chance to be successful. When we take out those barriers, we truly make families successful, and sometimes mothers have to choose— am I going to leave my kid in a diaper longer or am I going to pay the rent, we don’t want that to be, we want everyone to be healthy and happy, and if we can be a part of that, it goes a long way.”

The Aloha Diaper Bank’s Honolulu office is mailing diapers twice a month to residents, as there is no operational office in Kauai. The team also travels through the Hawaiian chain to provide support to various communities. They aim to establish a physical office in Kauai to enhance their services to parents on the island.

“We are so proud because we are in Molokai; we were there last year,” said Asuela, “We are on Lanai, and our coordinator, Emma is here from the Kona office, so we are all here to fully support Kauai, and we hope that one day we can open an office just like we have on the outer islands.”

The bank also aims to advocate strongly for all families and parents and extends its services to all individuals, including fathers.

“I wish we would change our name, added Asuela, “Because we don’t just service moms and babies, we service families and also fathers. We encourage fathers to come out and participate and be with us, too, because that is our main goal: that no one ever feels judged and is included.

“I am going to let a little cat out of the bag— but there are not enough Dulas, and we are hoping to add a ‘Dad Dula’ program because, without dads, we don’t have babies, so dads are just as important as moms, so please, please come out, don’t be shamed, local girls too sometimes we hear, ‘oh save it for someone else or maybe someone else needs it more than me,’ but no! there is enough to go around and that’s what we are here for.

“We will continue to advocate for every person that needs us, they get us. We are happy to be here in Kauai because it is still part of our community,” Asuela stated.

On Sunday, the Maui team conducted door-to-door outreach, delivering diapers to families unable to participate in the event. Each delivery was tailored to meet the specific needs of each household.

“We will be out tomorrow all day delivering diapers to the community,” said Kula Brown with the Maui team. “We meet parents where they are at, we make things work,” she said.

“We hope to set up shop in Kauai and provide the additional services we offer on other islands such as telehealth— we have a mobile clinic that goes around, whomever is in need, we are here to help you out.”

Individuals interested in donating diapers or parents interested in signing up to receive nappies can visit alohadiaperbank.org or call the Honolulu office at 808.762.0364 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursday’s and Fridays.