The recent Maui wildfires left thousands without homes.

So many people watched as their entire lives were destroyed in minutes.

For William Fincher, who owned a restaurant in Lahaina, Hawaii, the destruction of his neighborhood and his only family home was devastating.

Homes and cars were destroyed in moments, and 97 lives were lost.

Fincher said that when the fires broke out this past August, he and his family lost everything, except each other. They have been left in a temporary rental home, while trying to figure out how to fix not only their house, but their two restaurants that burned down, as well.

But if his friend, Maui builder Juan Ricci, has anything to say about it – the Fincher family, as well as other victims of the fire, will soon have a tiny home to call their own while they rebuild their lives.

“The rebuilding of Lahaina’s not going to happen in a couple months or a year, you know. It’s going to be a long time until Lahaina gets built,” Ricci said.

Juan Ricci and his team of volunteers are building tiny homes for William Fincher and his family, who were displaced by the Lahaina wildfire. Photo from Instagram

Along with Fincher, the friends are making homes for the family to live in. But the goal is to help other families displaced by the wildfires.

In my experience, everything here in Hawaii takes longer than they say it will. So, realistically, I’m just kind of preparing my family and myself to not be able to build for several years,” said Fincher.

“Lahaina is the best place in the world without a doubt, and now it’s still there, but it’s never gonna be the same,” he added.

Despite assurances from officials that Lahaina residents will not lose their temporary housing, the worry is still there.

“We need, like, a solution for the long term,” Ricci said. “What’s gonna happen next? We need to be prepared for that.”

Fincher will be part of the team learning to build in order to help build his new tiny home.

“I’m good with tools, but I don’t know how to frame or put roofs on or lay foundation, electrical, you know, none of this stuff,” Fincher said. “Juan does and Juan has the guys that know how to do this stuff.”

Ricci and his team rely on donations to help build the homes, and volunteers their own time and money to do this.

“That’s the idea, to raise some money and keep going and start paying the guys that have been working, helping the people,” Ricci said.

Juan Ricci and his team of volunteers are building tiny homes for William Fincher and his family, who were displaced by the Lahaina wildfire. Photo from Instagram

“The mortgage keeps coming, the rents still come in, the health insurance will come in … we need to create new jobs,” he said.

I’ve been teaching people. They’re not construction workers, but they can help out on the tiny home project.”

He hopes to get enough funds to build more spaces for families in need: “Everybody’s trying to help out right now,” Ricci said.

In a world where too often neighbors turn against neighbors, it’s heartwarming to see a town come together to help one another.

Watch below to see how these friends will help change the lives of so many in Hawaii.

Sources: Good Morning America | Upworthy