Molokai

[EnLinea Media]

Its leper-colony days are well behind it, but if you want unspoiled old Hawaii (including of course unspoiled beaches), this wee wedge of an island is an excellent candidate -- a hefty chunk of its 8,000 inhabitants are ethnic Hawaiians, and here's also where you'll find cattle ranches and paniolos (Hawaiian cowboyds).

More info: www.Molokai.com, www.Molokai-Hawaii.com, www.VisitMolokai.com.

[Sandi Yara]

MOLOKAI - The Island ... part 1

Once Father Damien is canonized in October, the tropical island of Molokai and the settlement of Kalaupapa will receive international recognition.

Molokai - fifth largest of the ‘main’ Hawaiian Islands:

• About 8,000 people live on Molokai.
• Molokai has no traffic lights.
• This is a very rural and unspoiled island.
• There are no shopping malls, no traffic.
• The island boasts the world’s tallest sea cliffs (3600 feet) along the North Shore
• Molokai is protected by 32 miles of barrier reef
• There are no buildings taller than a coconut tree
• This island is the legendary birthplace of hula and celebrates with an annual festival
• Visitors should rent a car so they are able to tour this beautiful island.
• Molokai is where you will find Kalaupapa National Historical Park and the gravesite of Belgian priest http://www.nps.gov/archive/kala/docs/damien.htm" target="_blank">Father Damien de Vuester (soon to be canonized by the Pope).
• Aqua Molokai Hotel is the only hotel on the island (there are also a few condos).

For more information Molokai, visit:
• http://visitmolokai.com/kala.html
• http://www.molokai-hawaii.com/


MOLOKAI - Kalaupapa, the settlement ... part 2

• Kalaupapa is a peninsula on Molokai that is cut-off from the rest of the island by sea cliffs.
• The isolation of Kalaupapa made it the ideal location to send people who were afflicted by Hansen’s disease (leprosy).
• In 1866, the first people with Hansen’s disease arrived at Kalaupapa by ship.
• In the early years, there was no settlement. People lived in caves and the most basic of shacks.
• With the introduction drug treatment in the 1940s, the disease was put in remission and Hansen’s disease victims no longer contagious. There are only a few former patients remaining in Kalaupapa. They are free to travel or relocate, but have chosen to remain where they have lived for so long.
• Kalaupapa National Park is open Monday through Saturday. Unless you are invited by one of the residents, the only way to tour the park will be by Damien Tours of Kalaupapa (fee). Visitors must be at least 16 years of age.
• The Kalaupapa can be reached by air, by hiking and by way of the famous trail ride by mules from upper Molokai.
• Currently, about 8,000 people visit Kalaupapa each year.

http://bit.ly/qxnrm


MOLOKAI - Father Damien ... part 3 of 3

Recently, a fundraiser was held to raise monies to send patients from Kalaupapa to Rome to witness his canonization and to honor a man who sacrificed himself on their behalf.

Here is a basic timeline:

• Jozef de Veuster was born January 3, 1840 in Tremelo, Belgium.
• In 1873, Father Damien, the 33-year old Catholic missionary and priest, arrived in Kalaupapa (after having resided in Honolulu since 1864).
• Going beyond preaching, Father Damien, built shelters, churches and arranged for funding, enabling the residents of Kalaupapa to live a modest but decent life.
• In 1889, Father Damien succumbed to Hansen's disease.
• 1977 – Pope Paul VI declared Father Damien to be venerable (title for a Roman Catholic accorded the first of three steps leading to sainthood).
• 1995 – Pope John Paul II declared Damien blessed.
• On February 21, 2009, the Vatican announced that Father Damien would be canonized on October 11, 2009 completing the process of sainthood.

Second miracle attributed to Father Damien

• A major process in achieving sainthood is the performance of a second miracle that undergoes thorough research before it is validated.
• The second miracle occurred when Audrey Toguchi, an 80-year woman from Aiea, was cured from a rare form of cancer.
• After being diagnosed that her cancer was spreading to her lungs and told there was little or no hope for recovery, Mrs. Toguchi advised her physician that she would be flying to Molokai to pray at Father Damien’s grave.
• According to her doctor, four months later, her cancer was gone.
• The Catholic Church considers her Mrs. Toguchi’s recovery a miracle toward Damien's canonization.

(Mrs. Toguchi and her husband were teachers at Ewa Elementary and Intermediate School when I attended. I was never one of her students but I did take a class from Mr. Toguchi).

Kalaupapa is a small, quiet community with an important past. Today, the former leper colony is part of Kalaupapa National Historical Park.