HONOLULU (KHON2) -- For the past month, KHON2 has been highlighting Hawaiʻi's remarkable women, celebrating the impact of the islands' fabulous wāhine. The winner of Remarkable Women 2025 is a woman who has made it her personal mission to find loving homes for orphaned children. Maui do g makes an unlikely friend — a whale Kristine Altwies, a proud mother of six, says being a mother has been her greatest joy. "I can't imagine my life without my children," Altwies said. "When you have the ability to adopt a child, it's a gift." The gift is adoption is one she knows very well. Altwies transformed and expanded international adoption in the islands, reaching China for the first time, and helping countless children and families along the way. Our remarkable woman has placed over 1,000 orphaned children from China, Russia and Africa with loving families in Hawaiʻi and across the country. Get Hawaii's latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Through her work, Altwies has traveled the world visiting orphanages and setting up programs supporting local communities and keiki. "That's what drives me, is the awareness that we have opportunities in life and if we take them, we're enriched," she said. Altwies and her husband, Bruce Chen, adopted a girl from China 15 years ago, and adopted two other children when their adoptions with other families did not come to fruition. "In each case, it felt like it needed to happen," Altwies said. "And I really believe that each child came to our family for a reason and it's a mutually supportive and mutually rewarding reason." Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news As international adoptions slowed, Alties shifted her attention to family health. She now heads the nonprofit Pono Roots Counseling Center, which provides counseling services for keiki, adults, couples and families. "I felt that our unique awareness of trauma and adoption," she said. "I really got to see what it takes to be a family and what it takes to be a great parent." Altwies credits her own parents for raising her in a home that was always open to friends, and strangers, who needed a place to stay, which taught her to open her own door and adopt a philosophy of open arms. Find more Hawaii, Oahu, Maui and Kauai news here "I absolutely think that sense of connectivity impaced me and the idea that if you have anything at all, you share it," Altwies said. "You share your love, you share your talents, you share your energy." ...read more read less