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Kalaupapa
Caring for the Patients

Kalaupapa's greatest asset is its people, both patients and kokua (helpers). Kalaupapa is still hale (home) for many Hansen's disease patients who choose to live here. These patients are people whose personal stories are essential to understanding the settlement's history and meaning. Their presence, knowledge and backgrounds make the park truly unique.

"We are like people any place else. We love, marry, drink, murder, commit suicide, fight. We have all the human drama. We are everything you are on the outside. Just like that -- life is life."
Male, Part-Hawaiian, 70 years old (interview ca. 1977)

There are many stories to be told at Kalaupapa National Historical Park; stories of pain, loss, despair and being treated as something less than human. There are also stories of great caring, faith, compassion and personal dignity. These stories are told by the people themselves; many have documented their experiences through taped interviews. Others have donated personal belongings, tools, crafts and other items to the park's museum collections. Each artifact reveals a little bit of life at Kalaupapa.

The park also contains numerous buildings, structures, landscapes and cemeteries associated with the historic Hansen's disease settlements at Kalaupapa and Kalawao. These are the places where thousands of people attempted to build new lives after being sent into isolation. Patients got married in one of Kalaupapa's churches, enjoyed dances and movies in the social hall, and socialized on the lanai at the community store. They also buried their loved ones in one of Kalaupapa's many cemeteries.