When Kawehi was 17 months old, state workers took her from her parents. By the time she was 6, she had lived in a house with 58 dogs and had survived a dog attack that left a scar above her left eye. She has passed through five foster homes.

 

Hawaii Child Protective System Finds Children Homes

 

 

Just in time for the holidays, 28 neglected or abused children were granted permanent homes with new families.

 

[ Watch ]

 

 

 

 

  Today, 8-year-old Kawehi Schaper lives with her adoptive parents in Wahiawa. The curly-haired girl with a wide smile attends the third grade and takes hula lessons.

“;She's our little angel,”; said her father, Otis Schaper, 50, a professional musician. “;She trusts us and we trust her.”;

After adopting Kawehi in 2006, the family returned to the Family Court building in Honolulu yesterday to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month and to thank the Family Court judge.

Twenty-eight children were adopted yesterday in a mass adoption, one day before National Adoption Day. Some parents adopted children for the first time; others adopted again.

According to the state, more than 120 children in Hawaii and 129,000 children nationwide are still awaiting adoption.

David Tamala, 43, and his family adopted their third child, Anthony, a 6-year-old Marshall Islander with cerebral palsy. Their second adopted child was Anthony's 4-year-old brother, Nathan.

Tamala, a bearded man carrying a Bible, has four biological children with his wife Danielle, but they might be adopting more.

“;There's nowhere else for them to go,”; he said. “;The Bible says take care of the widows and the orphans, so we take them.”;

Anthony, his hair in a mohawk, appears headed for a better life. Danielle Tamala said the adoption clears the way for his surgeries, with one already scheduled for Friday.

Julie Schaper, Kawehi's adoptive mother, wanted to thank Family Court Judge Paul Murakami again.

“;He just made us feel so welcome,”; said Schaper, an artist. “;He'd seen her through so many foster families. He just wanted her adopted.”;

After a couple of hours working on adoption cases, Murakami emerged to join the celebration. The judge, who has handled hundreds of adoption cases, said the goal is simple.

“;Open your heart,”; he said. “;All the child really needs is a family, somebody to love him or her. Give them a chance; give yourself a chance.

“;After that, they're just like any other family.”;

Things were not always merry for the Schapers. Early on, Kawehi beat and bit her mom and told her new parents, “;You want to hit me,”; Otis Schaper said.

She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and detachment disorder. “;It was hard for everybody,”; Schaper recalled. “;It was tough.”;

Now he sings a song he wrote for his daughter and proudly says, “;She adopted us.”;

Once a month, Kawehi sees two brothers adopted into families on Oahu.

“;It's a great day,”; she said yesterday, after throwing bean bags with her mother and hanging upside down from her father's waist. She told a reporter, “;If I were you, I would live with my parents.”;