Kalaupapa Peninsula is a very remote peninsula on Moloka'i, surrounded by some of the tallest sea cliffs in the world. It was once a sacred place for the Hawaiian people and then a place of exile for people with Leprosy. Until 1969, the Hawaiian people that had Leprosy were forced to live on the peninsula. They were taken from their families and many were never able to see them again.
Father Damien was recently canonized, now Saint Damien. He was from Belgium and volunteered to help the people of Kalaupapa. In the beginning, the people living there had to fend for themselves and many of them couldn't because they were weak from their illness. Saint Damien dedicated his life to helping them physically and spiritually, building homes and churches for them. He contracted leprosy and died on Kalaupapa. His courage and dedication to doing what is right is an inspiration.
Thousands of people lived and died on Kalaupapa until a cure was discovered for the disease. The bacteria that causes it was isolated and treated. The drug even reversed some of the disfigurement that patients formerly had. The peninsula is now home to former patients. They had been forced to live there and now it is the home where they choose to stay. It is unknown what will happen to the settlement once the last of the patients pass away.
To access the peninsula, you can hike, fly in on a small plane or take a mule ride. Guess what we did? That's right. Walk. We hiked down the huge sea cliffs 3.8 miles. My legs were shaking quite a bit, but again, the views help.
Here's our tour bus. You have to take a tour and get a permit in order to enter the settlement. No one under 16 years of age is able to enter and they ask that you not take any pictures of the people.
This is the grave of Mother Marianne Cope. She is another person that dedicated her life to helping the patients here. She and her Sisters did not contract the disease.
This is our tour guide feeding some of the local stray kitties. He is a very kind, sweet man.
This is a man that had leprosy and lived in Kalaupapa. He was a strong person and a voice of the patients there. His wife works at the local store there.
A portrait of Saint Damien at the Catholic Church. The church has 16 members.
This is an example of how well the treatment worked to cure Hansen's Disease. The picture on the far left is a man before treatment and the one next to it is after treatment. He started to return to looking how he used to.
Olivia was brought to Kalaupapa when she was only 18 years old. She wrote a book about her life there and what she went through. I purchased her book at the store there and read the thoughts she shared with us. She was a strong lady.
The sea cliffs are just breath-taking.
Here are the graves of some of the people that lived and worked in Kalaupapa. The grassy area is thousands of unmarked graves. People that didn't have money didn't get a stone grave marker. Wooden crosses were put up, but they don't last long. This place feels very special and spiritual.
Saint Damien's gravestone. Only part of him rests here because the Belgium people wanted him to return to his homeland.
Saint Philomena Catholic Church:
Perspective of the bus compared with the cliffs:
We had to hike 3.8 miles back up the cliff. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. We were cooled off by little rain drops and saw a rainbow over the peninsula. I'm not sure that pictures can really capture how it looked or felt. It was so wonderful. It felt like we could reach out and touch the rainbow. What a worthwhile journey.
Laura and Brian came down from California for a little vacation and to visit Drew and I. It was so much fun to have them here! There's nothing like hanging out with good people in a beautiful place. We got to visit some places we hadn't been yet and see some new perspectives. And, of course, we made sure we had plenty of shave ice during the day and Hawaii Gold at night.
Hehe. A fun picture of Drew and I (taken by Laura):
We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center with them. It was pretty impressive and the show was amazing.
Brian was a good sport (and a good dancer) when he was volunteered to go on stage!
Ha, Breath of Life:
