Last updated: July 8, 2026
Place
Children in Kalaupapa
Franklin Mark Collection
Quick Facts
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
The worst thing about being in here is missing my children. I have twelve children and they were all born inside. Nine of my children lived. I delivered all of my own babies. They were all born inside Kalaupapa. Twelve children I delivered. The first few times, the midwife showed me how to do it. With the other nine, I delivered them myself.
You know, the babies that were born inside here were not allowed to stay with their parents. After the babies were born, the law said they had to be taken away to the baby nursery in Kalaupapa. They were afraid of the contact--afraid the babies would catch the disease from their parents. But some of my children, I will tell you this, some of them I kept longer. Most times, the babies were born in the night. We kept everyone quiet so the administrators and nurses would not hear the baby being born. All my babies were born in my own home, right here. After I delivered the babies, we were so happy. I called the young girl patients and they would come running in the night to look at the newborn one. Everyone was so happy to see baby children. And us, we were so proud of our new babies, we had so much love. My babies stayed with me that way, longer than the law said they could. But my children never caught the sickness. We would try to keep the babies as long as we could, but most times, we kept them only until morning. Then we would carry them to the nursery. I didn't want any trouble with the administrators, or with the Board of Health. So we gave them up. That was the law. They allowed the children to live one year inside Kalaupapa nursery. There we could see them only through thick glass, but no can touch! Then after one year, they were removed. They were either hanai by family members or 'issued' out for adoption by the Board of Health.
It was so hard to give up your children like that, especially to the Board of Health. Seven boys and five girls we had. But three boys died in the nursery. They never took good care of them, yet they would not let us care for our own children, even when we knew they were sick. It was hard. You love them, and then they are taken away, just like we were taken away. But the children would never know us as parents.