Your gift is important and we are grateful for your kokua (support). With your generosity, we will be able to create more than just a building. The Damien and Marianne of Molokaʻi Education Center will serve as a legacy for generations to come, inspiring all who visit on the virtues of compassion and resilience.
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All gifts are welcome, in any denomination.
Aloha Kakou!
It’s been more than 150 years since Hawaii passed a law in 1865, authorizing the isolation of people diagnosed with leprosy, now known as Hansen’s disease, to the remote Makanalua Peninsula on Molokaʻi, commonly known as Kalaupapa. The Damien and Marianne of Molokaʻi Education Center will tell the story of the people of Kalaupapa, Saint Damien De Veuster, ss.cc. and Saint Marianne Cope, o.s.f., starting with the 1866 arrival of the first patients in Kalawao – the first settlement on the eastern side of the peninsula. It’s a story of forced segregation, it’s a story of the human resilience of heart and spirit, and what can be achieved by ordinary people with extraordinary compassion and dedication to helping those in need. The two-story, 5,900 square foot Education Center will feature a temperature controlled environment for the preservation of historic displays and artifacts and the comfort of our visitors; video presentations; a reflection chapel; a meditation garden with plants from Molokaʻi; and a gift shop featuring thoughtfully hand-made items from Molokaʻi artisans. Located on Kalakaua Avenue across the street from Waikiki Beach, the Education Center wil be one of Hawaii’s largest and most comprehensive museum-like facilities dedicated to the people of Kalaupapa and the Saints who answered the call to serve those in need. Please come and visit.
(Photos courtesy of the Congregation of Sacred Hearts U.S. Province)
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