Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 7, 1 July 1994 — Operation ʻOhana brings family together [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Operation ʻOhana brings family together

by Patrick Johnston On August 18, 1918 Margaret Mary So was bom in Kalaupapa to Hoaliku Kekai and So Kap Sool. Because her parents suffered from Hansen's Disease she was separated from them and moved into the Kapi'olani Boys and Girls School, an orphanage in Honolulu. Five years later Louisa So was born to the same parents.

She also was moved into the Kapi'olani school but by that time her sister had been adopted. Margaret and Louisa grew up separately in Honolulu, never knowing of eaeh other's existence. In 1941, Margaret married William Rowland, a soldier in the U.S. army, eventually moved to Oregon, and raised six children. Louisa also married but

I did not have any children. Last January, C r y s t a 1 R o w 1 a n d , granddaughter of Margaret, and daughter of Wallaee, one of Margaret's four sons, filled out an application to enroll her family in OHA's Operation 'Ohana. She had heard about the program through her grandfather who had been to Hawai'i recently and

wanted to encourage the children's appreciation of their Hawaiian heritage. When Operation 'Ohana secretary Kathy Bush received the applieaīion she immediately noticed a connection between Crystal's grandmother and Louisa, who Bush had known for years through work she had done in Punchbowl Homes, a publie housing complex. Bush says, "I remembered their parent's names on their birth certificates because I thought it was unusual to have had Korean and Hawaiian parents, at least at that time." After getting approval from Louisa (neeessary under Operation 'Ohana's confidetiality guidelines), Bush then contacted the Rowlands, told them about their mother's sister, and how they could get in contact with her. They did contact her, last May, when Crystal's family, unfortunate!y without Margaret who had died several years earlier, flew to Honolulu. Bush, who took the Rowlands from their hotel to Louisa's apartment, said as soon as they met her they knew she was family. "They were all standing around in the parking lot hugging and the kids were saying 'she looks just like grandma'." For Louisa, the discovery has meant the addition of a large, extended family she never knew existed. For the Rowlands, they gained an aunt and a greater under-

standing of Margaret's past whieh she had kept a secret all of her life. "My mother never wanted to talk about the past," explains Wally Rowland, Margaret's son. "She didn't want anyone to know she was from Kalaupapa." Louisa will have some of her "new" family live a little closer to home this year when Crystal comes to Hawai'i to begin studying at the University of Hawai'i. The Rowlands are hoping to have Louisa eome over to Oregon soon to visit the rest of the family. The uniting of Louisa with her sister's family is a weleome by-product of the work being done by OHA's four year-old Operation 'Ohana. The program is registering Hawaiians around the country and the world in order to, among other things, create a permanent record for Hawaiians to access when researching their genealogy. Operation 'Ohana coordinator Maria Kaina explains, "Many Hawaiians were adopted when they were children and they don't know who their family is. Some would like to find their families while others just want to know how mueh Hawaiian blood they have." The registry will also enable Hawaiians to be eligible for certain state and federal programs as well as create a kind of "citizens list" for a future Hawaiian nation.

The Rowland family with Aunt Louisa. From leftto right: Crystal, Louise Galamgam, Scott, Sheryl, Wallaee.