Molokai has no resident veterinarians, so a grassroots group of volunteers is throwing a concert to help fill the gap. The Molokai Community Veterinary Hui will host a fundraising concert Saturday, pairing Grammy-winning musicians with raffle prizes and keiki activities to raise money for a cause that organizers say has no easy local fix.
A Concert to Fund a Crisis With No Vets on Call
The fundraiser aims to raise money for the Molokai Community Veterinary Hui, known as MCVH, according to Hawaii News Now. MCVH leaders say the group addresses a critical stray and sick animal crisis on the island, where there are no resident vets. Secretary Letisha Kolb has said residents may struggle to afford taking their pets to Oahu for treatment, a gap that leaves many animals without timely care.
The hui currently operates out of a donated shipping container, where visiting Hawaii veterinarians practice, the station's report notes. Hui founders and volunteers say they built the facility themselves and run it without pay, on top of offering free community animal first-aid workshops. It is a bare-bones setup for an island where, per the same account, there simply isn't a local vet to call.
Grammy Winners and Keiki Activities on the Bill
The concert will feature Grammy Award-winning slack-key guitarist Uncle George Kahumoku Jr., Grammy Award-winning musician Daniel Ho, and Molokai's own Lono, alongside other performers. For Kolb, the music is personal as well as practical — she has said playing it is her way of expressing herself and blessing others. The family-friendly event will also include a free keiki ʻukulele workshop, hula, crafts, raffle prizes and food.
Doors open at 3:30 p.m. and the concert runs until 7:30 p.m. Saturday. All proceeds will pay for medical supplies, equipment, veterinary travel and veterinary care for families in need, rounding out a list of needs that mirrors what the hui has said it raises money for in the past: supporting clinics and covering flights for visiting vets and their staff, as The Molokai Dispatch has reported.
Why Molokai Leans on Visiting Vets and Inter-Island Help
The hui describes itself as a charitable organization working to improve access to veterinary care by bringing traveling veterinarians to the island, Kolb told the Dispatch. That approach isn't unique to MCVH: Big Island Pet Care Center says its team travels to Molokaʻi every month, working alongside the Molokaʻi Community Vet Hui, because traveling to receive veterinary services isn't always practical or possible for many island families. The Big Island group has also said it is thoughtfully expanding the services it can offer the community, though it is still seeking reliable housing on Molokaʻi to sustain those monthly trips.
Those visiting teams mostly handle cats and dogs, since surgeries require additional resources and coordination and are offered less often, according to Big Island Pet Care Center. The gap extends beyond vet access alone — Maui Humane Society notes that Maui County does not currently have an agency assigned to respond to calls about cats on Molokaʻi, leaving volunteer-driven groups to cover much of the need.
Transports and Clinics Keep the Need Visible
Inter-island partnerships and animal transports are vital to providing care and second chances to pets across Maui Nui, according to Maui Humane Society, cited by KHON2. The organization was scheduled to receive six stray dogs from Molokaʻi on Oct. 7; they will receive veterinary care, spay/neuter surgeries and behavioral evaluations before becoming available for adoption or foster care, the outlet reported. Maui Humane Society also provides temporary sheltering for stray dogs on the island.
Earlier clinic efforts show how much demand exists. MCVH's first veterinary clinic saw nearly 80 patients over two days in late February and early March, including at least 55 free vaccinations on the first day and more than 20 pets treated during a wellness clinic the next day, per the Dispatch. A separate joint community clinic held Oct. 2 by Maui Humane Society and Molokai Humane Society vaccinated and microchipped 195 animals, KHON2 reported — another sign of the steady stream of animals in need that Saturday's concert proceeds are meant to help support.
