Remembering the lives and lessons of Kalaupapa

More than 150 years ago, an infectious disease with no known cure spread fear across Hawai‘i – leprosy.

Fearing leprosy (or Hansen’s disease) would spread uncontrolled, King Kamehameha V banished all inflicted to the isolated Kalaupapa peninsula on Moloka‘i. More than 8,000 leprosy patients, mostly Native Hawaiians, were sent to Kalaupapa Settlement before the law banishing them was changed in 1969.

This month, for the first time, we honor the victims of leprosy by commemorating Kalaupapa Month, a designation signed into law by Governor David Ige last year.

King Kamehameha V banished all those inflicted with Hansen’s disease to the isolated Kalaupapa peninsula on Moloka‘i more than 150 years ago.

The cure for Hansen’s disease was discovered in 1941 and brought to Kalaupapa five years later. Today, most people with leprosy can be cured with drug therapy in a year or less. While being treated, individuals can continue normal lives, living at home with their families and holding down jobs. There is no need for isolation. There is no fear of disability.

When the State of Hawai‘i changed the law in 1969, former patients who chose to remain in Kalaupapa were guaranteed they could continue living there with the care and support of the state.

Kalawao County, which encompasses the Kalaupapa Settlement, is administered by the Hawai‘i Department of Health specifically for the care of the remaining individuals who had Hansen’s disease. The health department works closely with the National Park Service and state Department of Transportation to support the Kalaupapa community.

As we continue to fight the pandemic brought on by COVID-19, we take a moment to remember those exiled to Kalaupapa and celebrate the medical advances that changed our view of this once feared disease.

For more information, go to kalaupapaohana.org.