Red Hill Hero: Anna Chua
by Wayne Tanaka | Reading time: 1.5 minutes
This month, the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i will be bidding a fond farewell to our Red Hill organizer, Anna Chua, who will be pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Hawai‘i.
For the past year, Anna has worked tirelessly to educate, uplift, and organize our community to help protect O‘ahu’s groundwater aquifer from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. A core facilitator for the O‘ahu Water Protectors and the Shut Down Red Hill Coalition, Anna helped to lay the foundation for the massive grassroots mobilization that took place when jet fuel from the Navy’s facility poisoned the water system for 93,000 people, and she has continued to be a key driver in the movement to protect our water.
Photo: Oʻahu Water Protectors
It cannot be emphasized enough that the progress we have made so far – including the historic, landmark concession from the Pentagon that the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility must finally be shut down – is in many ways the result of Anna’s fearless, passionate advocacy; her diligent execution of the tremendous amount of critical, behind-the-scenes work needed to sustain a campaign like this; as well as her intuitive ability to bring people together to realize their collective power. The Sierra Club and the people of Hawai‘i have been so incredibly fortunate to have had Anna’s skills and commitment in this campaign and to the broader social and environmental justice challenges we face, and we all owe her a debt of gratitude for all that she has done and continues to do.
Photo: Oʻahu Water Protectors
We are relieved and grateful to know that Anna will continue to volunteer in the #ShutDownRedHill campaign, including through the O‘ahu Water Protectors, the ongoing Water Protectors Rising webinar series, and in neighborhood canvassing efforts to educate and recruit community members, among other activities.
Mahalo nunui e Anna!!
A hui hou,
Wayne and the Sierra Club Team
Check out Anna Chua's feature in the latest Teen Vogue, where she and water protector Kainoa Azama reflect on the Red Hill crisis and what it will take to keep our water safe!
