Olivia Breitha sat in her wheelchair just outside the courtyard of Seagull School in Kapolei as dozens of preschool children played.

"You don't hear that on Kalaupapa," she said yesterday, delighted by the sound of their cheerful, happy voices.

Breitha, a Hansen's disease patient, has no children or grandchildren of her own. She flew in from Moloka'i yesterday morning for a trip to Seagull School that she had anticipated for weeks.

"It makes me all excited," said Breitha, 89, who rarely gets to visit with young children. "Oh, I want to go see them."

For years, children under age 16 weren't allowed in Kalaupapa, a remnant of the days when there were no treatments for Hansen's disease, and children were thought to be more susceptible.

And for years Breitha has worked to change that.

In July, the state Department of Health instituted a temporary policy allowing patients to bring in children who are relatives. But not all residents want the children to visit, and the visits will end in October if enough residents oppose them.

Nurses and other kokua on the island are not allowed to bring in child relatives, said Mike Maruyama, chief of the Hansen's disease branch at the Department of Health.

But sometimes, Breitha gets visits by the granddaughter of her nurse, Julie Sigler.

"I had to officially make her Olivia's godchild so she could see her," said Sigler, who accompanied Breitha on the trip.

As Breitha was pushed into Germaine Kapaku's class, the faces of about 20 children lit up.

"Aloha, Kupuna," the children said with prompting from Kapaku.

Kapaku strummed her 'ukulele as the children sang "Aloha Kakahiaka" for their guest.

In that moment, Breitha never once lost her smile. "What a wonderful sound," she said. "I was going to cry."

During the visit, Kobe Delaforce, 4, clung to Breitha as if she were his own grandmother. Little Kobe had a smile that stretched from ear to ear as she read him pages from "Scooby Doo's Mysteries."

"I want to take him home," Breitha said.

Seagull Schools Director Chuck Larson said the interaction between the young and old generations is essential to a healthy life.

"Ironically the rule on Kalaupapa is no children," Larson said.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.