The Habele Outer Island Education Fund has released initial accounting numbers for fiscal year 2007. According to Habele Treasurer Tom Lutte, more than 90 cents of each dollar spent went directly to K-12 scholarships and library development in the Outer Islands of Micronesia.

One of the keys to Habele’s efficiency is the fact that we have no paid employees explained Lutte. The Fund spent roughly $6,300 in FY 2007. The breakdown by category was:

58% - Scholarships
33% - Library Development
5% - Domestic Postage & Printing
4% - Fees and Dues

The Fund was able to use this money to finance two complete scholarships (tuition, room, and board) to the prestigious Bethania High School in Palau for low-income students on Ulithi. Habele also made ten shipments of books and school supplies to public school libraries in the islands.

It is frustrating that we had to pay money to the state in fees and that we have unavoidable fixed costs like website hosting and our PO Box, noted Neil Mellen, President, but we are lucky that so many donors give time and talent - the content of our beautiful website, habele.org, is a great example of such a donation.

A more detailed analysis of these figures will be included in the 2007 Annual Report, which will be released by the Habele Board of Directors in early January 2008.

Habele is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of educational opportunities and accomplishment in the remote Outer Islands of Micronesia. Visit habele.org to learn more.

December 8th 2007 | Covina California

A group of students at Covina High School in California are mailing off an early Christmas Gift to fellow pupils in the Central Pacific nation of Micronesia. The gift, a collection of lightly-used text books, has been assembled as a donation for a public school on the remote Atoll of Ulithi, located 360 miles southwest of the American territory of Guam.

”The service club Interact worked with our campus library to compile the donation from books that we no longer had any use for” explained Mr. Sean Fox, the Covina High teacher who helped to coordinate the donation.

“I was familiar with the islands, once part of the United States' Trust Territory, as the result of stories I heard from one of my own former teachers, Jim Boykin.”

The more than one dozen boxes full of books are now enroute to the remote Outer Islands High School (OIHS) which is attended by students from the islands of Falalop, Mogmog, Federai, Asor and Fais in the state of Yap. This donation, and other similar projects, is part of the effort of the Habele Outer Island Education Fund to promote educational opportunity and advancement in Micronesia.

“I came across Habele on the Internet when researching stories about my former mentor Jim Boykin,” Fox explains, “I was really impressed that a group of former Peace Corps volunteers had set up a charity to serve these tiny and often-overlooked islands. I thought about how I might be able to pitch in and remembered that our school always seemed to have stacks of old textbooks lying around.”

Habele, a nonprofit incorporated in the State of South Carolina, awards performance-based scholarships to high school students in Micronesia in addition to marshalling donations of books and school supplies.

“This is a great chance for students in the US to connect with and help out their under-resourced peers in the Federated States of Micronesia” said Tom Lutte, Habele’s Treasurer and a former Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Micronesia. “The OIHS teachers and students make do with very limited materials, often with a single book for three or four students to share. These full classroom sets of texts will make a big impact.

Anyone interested in helping to pay for the cost of shipping the books to Micronesia is encouraged to visit www.habele.org and make a donation.

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A recent email to Habele explains:

I just saw your website and wanted to say thank you for all you are doing for the kids on the outer islands. I am from Eauripik and now reside in Washington state and it is good to know that people are doing good things for the kids on the islands. I enjoyed looking at the pictures you have on the website.

I will make a donation to your organization in the future.

Thanks again,
David H.

Habele wants to extend its to thanks to David for his kinds words, as well as to all the other generous Micronesians living in the United States who are eager to to extend the opportunities of education to their fellow islanders. Sa chigchig!

Habele volunteers from a public high school in Upland California continue to gather books for students at the Outer Island High School in Yap State, Micronesia. The most recent shipment included text books for Chemistry 1, Economics, U.S. Government, AP Biology, and Human Biology, as well as basic classroom materials such as pens, pencils, and notebooks.

The United States Postal Service has announced the resumption of domestic postal rates for addresses in the Northern Pacific.

Pacific Magazine reports that the United States Congress has passed Amendments to the Compact of Free Association. The House Bill, HR 2705, can be viewed here. Among the highlights:

The U.S. Agency for International Development (US AID) will take the role formerly held by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in providing post disaster relief to Micronesia and other freely associated states.

The Amendment also clarify the eligibility of citizens of Freely Associated States (FAS) residing in states or territories to receive the legal assistance provided by the Legal Services Corporation.

Pohnpei is now home to an office of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission intended to monitor and conserve critically-low levels of highly migratory fish stocks in the high seas of the Pacific.

Palauan politician and Governor Benigno R. Fitial publicly lamented the split of former trust territory islands.


The 8th Annual Western Micronesia Chief Executive Summit is being held in Saipan. Discussions are focused on privatization, alternative energy, and conservation.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to the expansion of educational opportunity and accomplishment in the remote outer islands of Micronesia, a former US Trust Territory in the Central Pacific.

The Kaselehlie Press reports on the tensions of federalism embodied in an ongoing dispute over government oil contracts between state and national law makers in the FSM

Yokwe.net has a detailed article explaining the push among some US House Members to reinstate certain Federal benefits to citizens of the Freely Associated States (FAS). As the article explains, these states, including the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshalls, enjoy a specially relationship with the following characteristics:

• The Compact of Free Association established these nations as sovereign States responsible for their own foreign policies. However, the FAS remain dependent upon the United States for military protection and economic assistance.

• Under the Compact, the United States has the right to reject the strategic use of, or military access to, the FAS by other countries. This right is often referred to as the ``right of strategic denial.'' In addition, the U.S. may block FAS Government policies that it deems inconsistent with its duty to defend the FAS, which is referred to as the ``defense veto.'' The Compact also states that the United States has exclusive military base rights in the FAS.

• In exchange for these prerogatives, the U.S. is required to support the FAS economically, with the goal of producing self-sufficiency, and FAS citizens are allowed free entry into the United States as non-immigrants for the purposes of education, medical treatment, and employment. Because of this ability to travel within the United States as a non-immigrant, many FAS citizens have since migrated to the State of Hawaii.

Father Francis Hezel of the Micronesian Seminar editorializes about reform in Chuuk State

In Habele organization news, donors from Southern California continue to provide Head Start and Primary Schools on Falalop Ulithi with education toys and games. Another box is being mailed sometime this week.



Also, donors and volunteers are encourage to contact board members with comments and feedback they would like to be considered at the upcoming Habele Board of Directors meeting, set to convene in Columbia, South Carolina in mid-November.

Habele is a an all-volunteer not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting educational opportunities and accomplishment in the remote islands and atolls of the Central Caroline Islands, commonly known as Micronesia

Habele is sending a collection of basic hand tools to the vocational education teachers working at the Neighboring Island High School on the Atoll of Woleai.

"Woleai is a remote island and basic supplies are hard to come by" explained Mr. Alex Sidles, Secretary of the Habele Board of Directors. "This is particularly true of tools required for the vocational programs. Frustratingly, we have found that the most remote schools tend to be the most under-resourced.

The high school on the island of Falalop, Woleai serves students from all the islands in that Atoll, as well as functioning as a boarding school for pupils from the neighboring Atolls of Eauripik, Ifaluk, Lamotrek, Faraulep, as well as the island of Satawal.

Composite photo of the Atoll of Woleai. Falalop is the island on the right with the unimproved airstrip. Photo Copyright Coral Reef Research Foundation. (Click here for a detailed map of Yap State).

Habele is a nonprofit organization consisting of former Peace Corps Volunteers, school teachers, private donors, and other volunteers working to promote educational opportunities and accomplishment in the remote Outer Islands of Micronesia. Visit www.habele.org to learn more.

Habele recently received a kind email from Mr. John Taibemal. John is a native of the Atoll of Eauripik who is now serving as an Airman in the United States Air Force. Because of the conditions of the Contact of Free Association Micronesian citizens may enlist in the US Military.

In regards to the donations to Eauripik Habele has sent he explained:

I am so very impressed of your dedication to help out the Outer Islands students. I am even more grateful for your volunteerism and very thankful for your committed endeavor in supporting the school system especially on your gifts of school supplies for Eauripik.

John E. Taibemal AM2 HSC-25
Anderson Airforce Base, Guam

Habele would like to thank John for his dedication to the United States as well as for his encouragement for Habele. We look forward to coordinating with John and other Micronesians in the United States as we expand our library support program. In fact, Habele volunteers are beginning to compile textbooks and reference books for a series of shipments later this year to the Atolls of Ulithi and Eauripik.

Mr. Sean Fox and his high school students in California have worked with their local Rotary and Interact Clubs to gather dozens of Biology, Physical Science, Chemistry, Economics, and History books already. Other Habele volunteers are marshaling donations in Washington DC, Columbia, South Carolina, and in Portland, Oregon.


If you are interested in learning how you can help gather supplies or make a financial donation to offset the cost of delivering the books visit Habele.org and look for contact information on the right hand tool bar. Habele is an IRS recognized nonprofit dedicated to educational opportunity and accomplishment in Micronesia's remote Outer Islands

This is the third in a series of blog entries chronicling the modern history of the Ulithi Atoll. For background information see Part I (1529 to 1730), Part II (1731 to 1899), and Part III (1900-1943).

The Americans came to Ulithi in September of 1944. Their presence would lead to far greater changes than the previous three occupying powers combined. The U.S. sought to make the lagoon a naval base, to serve as a point of consolidation for its eastward drive towards the Japanese Mainland, and most immediately the attack on Okinawa. The Japanese had left Asor, and the US landing forces encountered no resistance when the Americans landed. In order to make the maximum possible use of the limited land space the islands of the Atoll provided, they consolidated all Ulithians onto Federai. By displacing the other islands’ inhabitants they were able to create an airfield on Falalop, a logistics center on Sokoli, and an area for fleet rest and relaxation on Mogmog.


USS Enterprise CV-6 crewmen at the beach on the island of Mog Mog, Copyright US Library of Congress

With all the Atoll’s native inhabitants squeezed on the thin island of Federai (a few are said to have remained on nearby Ladoua) there was no hope of any sort of agricultural subsistence. Furthermore the lagoon’s water were said to be dirty from oil (from US and Japanese ships) as well a harboring naval mines. The navy simply brought huge rations of canned goods, rice, sides of meat, and other foods for the Ulithians, who received such an abundance of these, that they were said to have often feed them to their pigs once they had themselves become full. The Navy also sent a handful of medical doctors to deal with an outbreak of Yaws . In accordance with practice in the Pacific, the Navy itself served as the ruler and administrator of the Atoll .

After the War the Navy withdrew, though a contingent of US Coast Guard remained to man the small station that had been created. Although the Navy made some token efforts at cleaning up the islands where people had formerly lived (Falalop, Asor, Mogmog, and Sokoli) were for the most part quite barren, the soil replaced with crushed coral (to support the weight of trucks and machines) and the shores and reefs littered with trash and rusting machinery. The Navy sought to wean the Ulithians of their dependency on imported food over the course of a decade as the local foods began to be grown again in significant numbers. The Americans allowed US Jesuits to come and preach on the Atoll, with Father William Walter arriving in Mogmog in 1949.


An American teacher employed by the TTPI on the Ulithi of Atoll, Photo Copyright US Government

The United Nations allowed the United States to rule the islands of the Pacific in a “Strategic Trust Territory.” The “Strategic” qualification meant that the US reported to Security Council rather than the General Assembly of the UN, and that the US had total control of all political and military concerns. This included a prevention of all non-US foreign nationals from entering the territory. The Navy officially passed control to the US Department of Interior in 1951. Although there were efforts made in the direction of basic infrastructure / medical / educational improvement, the reality was that the TTPI was initially not unlike the League of Nations Mandate that the Japanese had exercised in terms of the foreign power’s perception of primary responsibility towards the locals.

The “Strategic” qualification is key to many critics’ understanding of the intent and interest of the Americans through this period, and even through to the present. David Nevin argued in the late 1970s that “Americans have had a disastrous impact in Micronesia. They have been motivated by their interest in the strategic value of the islands and have been guided by a naïve altruism and an arrogant assumption that has allowed no self-questioning.”

A significant tenant of US rule was the insistence that no foreigners could own land within the trust territory, and this included the American Government itself. On Ulithi the Coast Guard acquired land through long-term leases, and this was the case for some sixty acres , primarily the area to the North of the airstrip on Falalop, known as Hapillpill, or “the government side.” It was this land, already secured as “public” in the form of leases that would host the Atoll-wide high school.

The 1960s saw a revision in American perceptions and attitudes. Although planners in the Pentagon were in no hurry to cede islands that had been “given away” in the 1890s only to be earned back through great loss of American blood in the 1940s, military technologies as well as centralization made certain locales very significant (Kwajallein, Guam, Okinawa) while the vast majority of Pacific Islands were admittedly of little strategic value. The whole was considered much greater than the sum of its parts . The Kennedy Administration brought new thinking, and eager optimism, along with much greater funds for the TTPI. Third country nationals, as well as their economic efforts were allowed in, and the Peace Corps arrived in mass to further basic educational and sanitary programs. The overall budget for the TTPI was vastly expanded as well.

A major factor contributing to the change in policy overseen by the Kennedy administration was a 1961 report by the United Nations which painted a rather grim and blaming portrait of the “considerable dissatisfaction and discontent” among the Islands throughout the TTPI . This was particularly damaging, as the US had recently, and quite publicly, announced it support for the anti-colonial stance taken by Angola against its former masters in Portugal.

The days of the Trust Territory Pacific Islands (TTPI), and particularly from the late1960s through the early 1980s represent the peak of foreign involvement and development on Ulithi. Schools were created on each island at the elementary level, as well as an atoll-wide high school on Falalop. During this period the Ulithians continued to recieve a great deal of aid and assistance from the military. Following a disastrous typhoon in the 1960s companies of US Navy Sea-Bees (Construction Battalion) arrived to fabricate new homes for all the Atoll’s families. Water catchments, men’s houses, and other concrete structures were also created with a combination of US leadership / supervision and Ulithian labor. It was during this period Outer Island High School (OIHS) earned a reputation as “The Best In The Western Pacific” when it was headed by an American Contract teacher / principal named James D. Boykin, and staffed by a small army of Peace Corps Volunteers.

Changes in funding did not address the TTPI mechanisms. The control over the “American Pacific” remained with the Department of the Interior. Frustration was voiced by some at the “supreme illogic of giving (the Department of the) Interior dominion over an immense exterior region more than 6,000 miles from Washington .” The exceptions were few, namely direct Department of Defense control of military facilities at Kwajallein, Eniwetok, and Bikini, as well an unclear amount of CIA control over Saipan, home to the intelligence organization’s Asian training facility.


Elementary School Student, Falalop, Ulithi. Copyright Habele

As the Trust Territory came to an end, the various island groups in the Central Pacific could not come to a unanimous decision as to their desired national status, and each negotiated separately. The Marshalls (1986) and Palau (1984) became republics, and the Northern Marianas a US Commonwealth (1978). The Islands of Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, and Kosrae established themselves a loose federal structure, termed the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and aligned themselves with the United States in a “Compact of Free Association” that while maintaining formal sovereignty for the FSM, provides for a significant portion of direct US aid, and eligibility of FSM citizens for US domestic assistance programs. The Compact was intended to be a one-time treaty to be concluded after twenty years, and culminating in a state of final financial self-sufficiency for the FSM. Having failed to reach these goals, a second compact of free association was agreed upon in the late 1990s.
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The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a US-based non profit organization dedicated to promoting educational opportunities and accomplishments in Micronesia's remote Outer Islands.

This is the third in a series of blog entries chronicling the modern history of the Ulithi Atoll. For background information see Part I, which covers 1529 to 1730, and Part II, which covers from 1731 to 1899.

At the conclusion of the Spanish America War the United States sought to strip Spain of any of lingering colonies or possessions that might interfere with America’s manifest destiny to reign as the primary power in the Western Hemisphere. This extended to Philippines, which provided so lucrative to its former owners, but not to the smaller and more scattered Islands of Micronesia. America also seemed eager for Spain to have available the liquid cash assets necessary for war reparations. With the consent of the United States, Germany purchased both the Carolines and the Marianas from Spain in 1899. Guam was the sole exception, being retained by the U.S., and it seems to have served the same purpose of naval and economic port of security and transit that the Spanish employed it as.

A German cruiser in Microneisa, circa 1876 Copyright Kingdom of Yap.org

The Germans, like the Spanish before them, were much more interested in Yap Proper, than the smaller islands around it. While busy redistricting and attempting to commercialize Yap, they sent only a few vessels to the outer islands in order to buy Copra (dried coconut meat). This gave the Ulithians and other outer islanders a small amount of money for the purchase of basic goods. The Germans did decree some laws, such as a restriction of the tapping of coconut sap, but these were mostly ignored. The primary impact of the Germans seems to be their decree that extended canoe voyages between islands cease. This was enforced much more thoroughly than their other legislative efforts. Both the laws restricting intoxication and travel seemed to been intended to make the locals more orderly, or at least easier to rule. Following the Great War, Japan assumed control of the islands, as it had joined the cause of the Allies late in the war with the hope of gaining additional lands to increase its regional power.

THE JAPANESE
At the conclusion of the First World War the Allied Supreme Council created a mandate system that stripped the defeated nations of their colonies, and placed them as “temporary wards of the ‘advanced’ nations until they were able, in the words of what became Article 22 of the Covenant, ‘to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world .’” The un-advanced, were passed from the advanced losers to the advanced winners. The Mandate was termed a class “C” which designated those nations on the “’lowest’ stage of development; for them independence was not seen as an optional at all .”

A Japanese observation tower on Asor, photo copyright PacificWorlds.com taken by Drury C. Lee

The Japanese set up a very small presence on Ulithi during their League of Nations Mandate and later Military occupation of Yap (and Micronesia). The location of this small group of rotating men, never more than a dozen at a time, on Asor served to up-heave the traditional power system on Mogmog in small ways. Although active prostylization did not occur on Ulithi itself the Japanese were pleased to tolerate Catholicism on Ulithi, as it seemed to promote order and subservience in the locals throughout the mandate . The Japanese relocated some Ulithians, mostly young males, in order to attend school in Yap Proper. A handful were later sent to trade schools as far way as Palau or the Marianas. Those who were in Yap at the onset of the War were to remain there until the conclusion of Pacific Theatre hostilities, and were often employed in military construction projects such as runway repair. In the years immediately leading up to the War, there was also relocation of some Ulithian men to work at the phosphate mines on Fais. Others went to Angur in Palau to work as unskilled manual labor in pursuance of the goals of the Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere. Not as much interested with (or concerned by) the fact that Japan was able to create conditions for net exportation of goods such as rice and sugar in the region as a whole most contemporary Ulithians note only that it was a period characterized by strict order and development.

As well as locals, some American observers have painted a very glossy version of events during the period. A reporter for the Saturday Evening Post noted in early 1964 that “by the mid-1930s energetic Japanese had colonized extensively, building sugar mills and pearl centers, mines, fisheries, and a thriving copra trade. The major islands, bustling centers for commerce became progressive modern in their way of life.” Indeed there were a few sites hosting great leaps in development, but on the whole this is a rather simplified take on a mercantilist / colonial system, that was for a time directly controlled through a military apparatus, and included a limited use of coerced labor as the War came to an end and the Japanese were under greater attack .

We might do well to question the degree of direct impact the Japanese had on Ulithi itself. In his Pacific Islands Douglas L. Oliver illustrates a juxtaposition of the larger islands (contemporary state capitals) where “native life was transformed, sometimes beyond recognition” and those “out-islands” including Ulithi Atoll where the foreign influence was less direct and significant . He argues that with “no immediate Japanese need for their lands or persons they were left for the next batch of foreign masters to transform.” These next “masters” were the Americans who brought with them many shifts in life and thought.


Part IV will cover from 1944 through to the 1960s.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a US-based non profit organization dedicated to promoting educational opportunities and accomplishments in Micronesia's remote Outer Islands.

This is the second in a series of blog entries chronicling the modern history of the Ulithi Atoll. For background information see Part I which covers 1529 to 1730.

Fathers Contova and Walter, as well as a small contingent of Spanish soldiers, sailors, and alter boys arrived in on Ulithi in 1731. They remained on Mogmog a short while, but chose to set up shop on Falalop due to the greater space and more ready availability of fresh water. They had brought within them a young man from Ulithi, who had arrived on Guam when his canoe veered far off course. He had taught the Fathers his tongue, and was assumed to be an essential component of their conversion efforts. In fact he spoke to the Ulithians fearfully of the things he had seen in Guam, of the manner in which the Chamorro were oppressed by their captors. When the bulk of the Spanish had left to secure additional supplies from Guam, those remaining behind, including Father Cantova, were killed by the Ulithians.

Father Cantova's Map of the Outer Islands. Reproduced in History of Micronesia: A Collection of Source Documents, Volume 13, complied and edited by Rodrique Lévesque, Lévesque Publications, 1992.

Father Spilimbemgo, who authored a contemporary biography of Walter explained how after stabbing and then accusing the Jesuit of destroying their customs, the “barbarians attacked him with two more spears, to finish him off: one pierced him in the chest and the other one went through his left side again.” Spilimbemgo, who likely heard a third hand tale, goes on to point out the symbolic value of three (recalling the trinity) sheddings of blood demonstrating his “charity” , and then explains that all this occurred on the shore of Mogmog, with the rest of the Spanish contingent on Falalop being killed later in the same day.

Although the Spanish may have reached Yap Proper as early as 1527 (Alvardo di Saaverdra Ceron), and most certainly did by 1542 (Ruy Lopez de Villalobos), they did not come to remain in a formal capacity or create a permanent presence until 1885. During this period the Germans were increasingly active in the region, primarily interested in the Copra trade, and they attempted to make a claim on Yap as well. Pope Leo XII settled the dispute by assigning the Marianas and Carolines to Spain, while allowing the Germans control of the Marshall Islands to the east . Although they created a station in Yap Proper, the Spanish did not construct any significant or permanent presence in the outer islands.

Chiefs and leaders on the Island of Mogmog. Photographer unknown. Reproduced in Lessa, Willam A. Ulithi: A Micronesian Design for Living, Holt, Rhinehart and Winston Inc. New York, 1966.

Dave Bird, in his Yap Regains Its Sovereignty explains how Yap State (meaning Yap Proper itself as well as all the outlying atolls and islands which collectively make up the contemporary political state – see map section) as a whole, and Yap Proper in particular, saw “relatively few changes” during the period of Spanish rule. The Spaniards introduced Catholicism (this time it held foot) as well as literacy to a limited degree by teaching Spanish as well as creating a Yapese Orthography. Changes on the Outer Islands were even less significant, and Bird outlines his account of the “outer island link in the old ‘Yap Empire’” which the Spanish did not alter .

Part III will cover the period from 1899 (when the Germans took possession of the Caroline Islands) through to the Japanese acquisition (after WW 1) and then loss (in WW2) of the islands.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a US-based non profit organization dedicated to promoting educational opportunities and accomplishments in Micronesia's remote Outer Islands.

In response to requests from our volunteers and donors Habele will be writing a series of blog entires dealing with the modern history of the Ulithi Atoll. Particular attention will be paid to how contact with outsiders has influenced social, political, and economic changes on the Atoll.

Westerners first visited the Ulithians in 1525. From this point until the formal Spanish annexation of Yap and it’s surrounding areas in 1885, the Ulithians received infrequent outside visitors, as well as having occasional contact with the Spanish and Chamorro on Guam through canoe voyages (initially by accident, later by design). The latter post-contact period of Ulithian history is most easily categorized by the foreign occupying powers that formally controlled Micronesia. The Spanish (1885-1899), the Germans (1899 - 1914), the Japanese (1914 – 1944), and finally United States (Navy 1945-1951, Trust Territory 1952-1986).

Map of the Atoll of Ulithi, Copyright Habele.

To a great degree the changes and developments on Yap Proper influenced the Ulithians, though it was not until the American period that the Ulithians hosted a significant, and deeply influential, outsider’s presence on their Atoll.

Dioga da Rocha, a Portuguese Captain was blown off course (he was headed for the Philippines) and came upon Ulithi on the first of October in 1525. He termed the Atoll “Islas de Sequeira” and remained until the twentieth of January 1526, in order to make repairs and refurbish supplies. Limited trading occurred and the two sides seemed fascinated with one another, the Portuguese taking special note of the complex local canoes skillfully created without the use of metal.

The next recorded Ulithian contact with outsiders did not go as smoothly. In 1712 Bernard de Egui, a Spaniard, was heading west from Guam in the hope of relocating Palau. Knowing that there was once a Spanish priest on Sonsorol, an outer island of Palau, Eugi came to Ulithi with the intention of taking captive a Ulithian to serve as a translator. Things got “confused” and as they were to depart from Ulithi, the Spanish fired a canon, killing three natives. The Ulithians in turn killed a Spaniard aboard one of their canoes, after which the Egui quickly set off, with a Ulithian trapped aboard his vessel to serve as the intended translator.

Two centuries prior Magellan had passed through the Central Pacific on his way to the Philippines (where he was killed) during his 1519 – 1521 voyage. In 1668 the Spanish created a small outpost in the Marianas, located on Guam. It was initially considered a branch of their Manila presence, which was overextended. The primary function of a Spanish presence in the Central Pacific was to ensure a safe route for the Spanish Galleons, carrying their loot from the Philippine Islands to Spanish Settlements in South America. The Spanish Jesuits on Guam were cognizant of the islands to the south of Guam, as a number of canoes from the Outer Islands of Yap had strayed off course, depositing their crews on Guam. Other canoes from the Outer Islands had reached as far as the Philippines in much the same manner. In the late 1720s the fathers began a campaign to secure funding and material from the Spanish Throne in order to set out on a mission of discovery and conversion.

A traditional sailing canoe seen from the shore of Falalop, Ulithi. Copyright Habele.

Part II will cover the period from 1731 (when Fathers Contova and Walter landed on Ulithi) through to the end of the Spanish period in 1899.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a US-based non profit organization dedicated to promoting educational opportunities and accomplishments in Micronesia's remote Outer Islands.

Habele volunteers sent off instructional materials to Head Start centers on the Ulithi Atoll late this week. The shipment, the third this year to Head Start, was organized by a retired couple who visited the Outer Islands of Yap in 2004.

My husband and I had a wonderful time when we visited Ulithi in the course of our mid-Pacific travels. I was struck by the natural beauty of the islands and the warmth of the people. That said, it was frustrating to see how under-resourced the schools were. I knew there was an imperative to help, and I am glad that I can work through Habele to do just that!

Information on previous Head Start donations can be found here and here.

In other Habele news, volunteers and donors will be pleased to see that the United States Postal Service plans to reassign domestic address status to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau. This will allow Habele to spend more money on scholarships and the purchase of supplies, and less on postage.

Volunteers are encouraged to check out the September 2007 edition of National geographic Traveler magazine (review here) for a ten-page article written by P.F. Kluge. Kluge’s The Edge of Paradise featured prominently in Habele’s Ten Great Books About Micronesia list released earlier this year.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a US-based non profit organization dedicated to the advancement of educational opportunity and accomplishment in Micronesia's remote Outer Islands.

The tragic shooting deaths in Neosho Missouri have sparked coverage of the plight of Micronesians in the United States.

The Far Outliers blog has a great entry looking at success stories of Micronesian immigrants in the United States.

A new Congressional Research Service highlights the role of Micronesia and other Pacific Islands in the United State’s global security strategy. Excellent summary at Yokwe.net:

The Freely Associated States (FAS), together with Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, have been regarded as a security border of the United States, the defense of which is considered to be key to maintaining vital sea lanes. In addition to being home to the Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the FAS are located strategically between Hawaii and Guam.

According to some military experts, the FAS provide a vast buffer zone for Guam, which serves as the “forward military bridgehead” from which to launch U.S. operations along the Asia-Pacific security arc stretching from South Korea and Japan, through Thailand and the Philippines, to Australia. The U.S. military is building up forces on Guam to help maintain deterrence and respond to possible security threats in the Pacific.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit serving the educational needs and aspirations of under-resourced schools and students in the Outer Islands of Micronesia. Visit Habele.org to learn more.

There is an interesting review in The Economist of Paul Collier’s The Bottom Billion. The piece explains how Collier argues

[A]id from the guilt-ridden West is not the answer, or at least not the main answer, and certainly not aid as it has so often been disbursed. For sure, aid has not been useless. “A reasonable estimate is that over the past thirty years [aid] has added one percentage point to the annual growth rate of the bottom billion,” he writes. “Aid has been a holding operation preventing things from falling apart.”

Also in the news, Habele’s announcement of it’s 2007-08 scholarships has been reported by the Saipan Tribune and Pacific Magizne as well as Olekoi.com and PalmettoScoop.com.

Australia appoints a new Ambassador to Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshalls.

Governor Anefal visits Yap Outer Islands.

Chuuk State in Micronesia continues to struggle with drought.

Though our scholarship checks are still enroute to Bethania High School in Palau, Habele volunteers continue assembling book and material donations for our public school support programs. Visit Habele.org to learn about how you can help.

(July 31, 2007, Columbia, South Carolina) The Habele Outer Island Education Fund announced today that it is awarding over $3,500 in high school scholarships to students from a remote and underdeveloped Pacific Atoll in Micronesia.

Habele, a South Carolina based nonprofit, is comprised of former Peace Corps Volunteers and other education-minded Americans with an interest in Micronesia, a Federation of islands in the central Pacific formerly administered by the United States Department of the Interior.

The recipients are two girls aged 17 and 18 from the islands of Falalop and Asor on Ulithi Atoll in Yap State. They will be attending classes at the all-girls Bethania High School in the Republic of Palau.

One of the awards, the Oceanic Society Sea Turtle Scholarship, is being granted through the support of the Oceanic Society in recognition of the community’s ongoing support for a local sea turtle research and conservation program. The Society is a US based non-profit marine conservation group involved in environmental expeditions and education in Micronesia and around the world. Like Habele, the Oceanic Society recognizes the unique difficulties faced by students in the Outer Islands.

Neil Mellen, Habele’s founder explained,

“These isolated atolls in Micronesia face a gamut of social, political, and economic challenges. Their remoteness and limited natural resources leave them dependent on government foreign aid which encourages the expansion of an inefficient public-sector-based economy. The Secretariat of the Pacific reports that fewer than a fifth of these islanders have access to acceptable sanitation and that infant mortality rates are five times higher than those the United States.

“Expanding academic opportunity and promoting educational accomplishment is an essential first step in promoting individual, island, and national sovereignty. Through scholarships to private schools and material donations to public schools, Habele is working with the Outer Island Communities to meet this goal.”

Mario Suulbech, a Habele volunteer who lives on the Island of Falalop, echoed Mellen’s optimism.

“These girls are the future of our islands. Sadly, some people here are still skeptical about the value of education and the role of women in our changing traditions. These particular girls are working hard to prove them wrong, to build a brighter future for their families, and our island community.”

The scholarship winners will travel to and from the school with money raised by their families, and have signed a strict performance contract that ties their scholarships to academic targets.

Habele consists of donors and volunteers from throughout the United States and the Pacific. The Fund has no paid employees and is still seeking support for its ongoing public school book drives. Visit www.habele.org to learn more.
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As part of our ongoing effort to keep Habele volunteers and donors informed about cultural and political developments in Micronesia’s remote Outer Islands we have compiled this brief overview of national indicators. It is important to keep in mind that these figures reflect either federal averages or the data gathered in district centers, and that the situation in the Outer Islands tends to be significantly less developed.

The Asian Development Bank’s four-page 2007 Fact Sheet on Micronesia is a great place to start. The Bank notes The FSM economy is dominated by a public sector funded by sector grants under the Compact II assistance arrangement with the United States (US). Despite significant levels of development assistance, the FSM economy averaged annual growth of only 1.8% during Compact I (1987–2003). It contracted 0.7% in 2006.

The 2007 Infant Mortality Rate for Micronesia is reported at 42 per 1000 (close to the Pacific/ East Asia average, but compared to just 8 per 1000 in the United States) and the Per Capita Gross National Income is US $2,300 - about 1/20th of that in the US.

The International Monetary Fund’s Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix for the Federated States of Micronesia is forty-five page compilation of facts and figures. The IMF explains that since 2001, private sector growth has stagnated. During 2001–05, private sector GDP grew by 0.9 percent on average, compared with 2.2 percent for the public sector. As a result, the private sector’s share in GDP fell to 29 percent in 2005, compared to 40 percent for the public sector. During this period, employment in manufacturing, construction, and tourism fell sharply, while in services, mainly retail, it expanded.

The Fund is also cautious about the future, and fears that this stagnation will worsen in coming years. Analysis shows that the barriers to conducting business make Micronesia an unlikely candidate for growth. There is evidence within the region suggesting a link between the business climate and private sector growth. A simple plot of average growth rates during 2000–06 and the World Bank’s Doing Business in 2007: How to Reform rankings show that Pacific Island Countries (PICs) with lower costs of doing business featured faster average growth rates. With Micronesia ranking near the bottom among PICs in both the business environment and growth performance, improving the regulatory regime could yield significant economic benefits. Overall, Micronesia ranked 106th among the 175 participating counties and at the bottom among Pacific Island Countries in the ease of doing business.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Statistics Unit is another great resource. The Secretariat reports that only 23.5 percent of the Micronesian population has access to “improved sanitation,” though 92.8 percent enjoy access to improved drinking water.”

Also worth a look is the United Nations Population Fund’s Indicators, and the World Bank’s guide to doing business in Micronesia.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a US-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting educational opportunity and accomplishment in the remote islands and atolls of Micronesia’s Outer Islands. Through scholarships to private schools and material support to public schools we work to provide a firm basis for personal, island, and national growth in Micronesia.

Habele has just received the 2007-08 tuition schedule from Bethania High School in Palau. Citing rising costs in utilities, teacher cost of living adjustments and basic school supplies the school announced a 16 percent increase in tuition. The school also has added a range of fees (including standardized testing costs) to the 12th grade tuition rate.

To date, Habele donors have responded generously to the needs of our scholarship students. We hope to gather the funds to cover this unanticipated fee hike by the end of summer when we will award our 2007-08 scholarships!

In broader regional news:

Matson Increases Container Rates To Palau, FSM, Marshalls.

FSM Administration Moves To Help Financially Troubled States

Micronesian HESA confirms Zika virus, says quarantine unnecessary for Yap.

US GAO says trust funds not complete answer to US funding in Compact Territories.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a US-based nonprofit promoting educational opportunities and accomplishment in Micronesia’s remote Outer Islands. Please consider a donation of time, school supplies, or money today!

The South Carolina Secretary of State has reported that Habele devoted 82.8 percent of its total expenses to program services during the 2006 fiscal year.

Tom Lutte, the Fund’s Treasurer, noted that Habele is able to maintain such an efficient organization by not having a single paid employee. Unlike most development organizations, Habele is organized and administered exclusively by volunteers – both US and Micronesia based.

Looking further into the numbers reported by the SC Secretary of State, Mr. Lutte noted that the remaining 17.2 percent of expenses were broken down in the Fund’s financial report as:

0.95 percent for “occupancy, rent, utilities and maintenance"
4.47 percent for “printing, publications, postage and shipping”
11.85 percent for “other”

The largest portion, “other” consisted of fees paid by Habele to the US Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, and the State of South Carolina during the process of formal incorporation and tax exemption. Habele donors will be pleased to hear that these are primarily one-time expenses. The “postage” expenditures include the parcel costs of sending Habele’s shipments of donated school supplies to public schools in the Outer Islands.

Further details of the Fund’s expenditures can be found in its annual report.

To help Habele in its work promoting educational opportunity and accomplishment in the remote Outer Islands of Micronesia please consider donating today.

California volunteers are sending more toys for Head Start centers on the Atoll of Ulithi. Please contact Habele if you are interested in helping with this warm-hearted project. In regional news:

Trust Funds May Not Provide Sustainable Income for FSM
The new report, "Compacts of Free Association: Trust Fund for Micronesia and the Marshall Islands May Not Provide Sustainable Income," issued June 15, 2007, is the fifth in a series since July of 2005. The GAO has found accountability problems, sustainability challenges, and limited development prospects facing the two Pacific nations. Market volatility, in addition to the investment strategies chosen, may lead to a wide range of trust fund balances at the close of grant funding in 2023, states the GAO.

The faces of Micronesia's fallen
Since the war on terror began in 2001, Guam and its Pacific island neighbors have seen hundreds of their sons and daughters deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. To date, 22 sons of Micronesia are among those who have been killed, including more than 3,500 Americans killed in Iraq. This year has been the deadliest with eight casualties.

Habele is a US-based nonprofit working to promote educational opportunity and accomplishment in Micronesia's remote Outer Islands.

A quick review of news from the Outer Islands of Yap and around Micronesia.

Authors of a new paper in the Journal of Public Health Nutrition found that the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has "suffered a great loss in production and consumption of local foods. Inconsistent external and internal government policies and food aid programmes have contributed to the problem."

Conservation Volunteers from Beautify CMNI recently discussed the idea of collaboration between the turtle protection programs on Ulithi and similar efforts proposed in the Marianas Islands.

The FSM Justice Department has filed charges against that nation’s former Ambassador to the US Jessie Marehalau.

United States Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne visited the Federated States of Micronesia, and spoke of the strong historical ties between the two nations. During the Trust Territory period the Department of the Interior oversaw the governance of the four states that now constitute the Federated States of Micronesia. While the FSM is now a sovereign self-governing nation, Kemthorne described the country as “an important part of the portfolio of the Department of the Interior.” This seemingly imprudent comment may be a function of the role played by his Department in the Compact of Free Association between the two countries.


The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is nonprofit organization serving the educational needs of communities and students in the Outer Islands of Micronesia. Habele grants scholarships to children attending private schools and supports public schools through material donations. Visit Habele.org for more details.

Habele is proud to announce that we, with the help of generous donors across the US, are within $200 of reaching our summer fundraising goal! Habele will be officially awarding its scholarships to Micronesian Outer Island students at summer’s end.

New photos of Habele scholars during the 2006-07 school year are now online at Habele’s Flickr photo page.

In broader Micronesian news:

Word Press reports on the role of lump sum government foreign aid in the Pacific. There is no ideology involved; the entire situation is due to the "culture of dependence" governments in Oceania, which are only interested in dollar terms. Both China and Taiwan are playing "check-book diplomacy." The one who can offer more can gain a new bedfellow as well as a valuable United Nations vote.

The Associated Press considers theories about, and the impact of, rising sea levels in Oceania. Island people disagree on whether it is global warming, but they know there is less sand and the trees are falling into the ocean. The question for some islands is, will there be anyone left to hear them fall?

Radio Australia covers the US calls for an audit of the Republic of Palau’s finances.

Habele is a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of educational opportunity and accomplishment in Micronesia’s remote Outer Islands. We have no paid employees and do not accept government support. If you believe in the value of education and the power of grass roots change please consider donating today.

Habele volunteers in California have been gathering donated stuffed animals this week for the Head Start center on Falalop Ulithi.

Overseen by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start is public pre-kindergarten program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of enrolled children.

Head Start began as a domestic US program for poverty reduction in President Johnson’s Great Society reforms, but Head Start services and support have been extended to Pacific Island nations in Free Association with the United States.

This volunteer-organized donation drive is an excellent example of how Habele works year round to fulfill its mission of supporting public schools in the Outer Islands of Micronesia. For more information on how you can support this project, or to learn about our private school scholarships, visit www.habele.org.

Habele is proud to announce a forthcoming collaboration with the Oceanic Society, a nonprofit conservation organization based in San Francisco, to expand our high school scholarships for Outer Island students in Yap State.

The Oceanic Society aims to protect marine wildlife worldwide through an integrated program of scientific research, environmental education and volunteerism. Toward that end, the society has been involved in a small scale ecotourism project in Yap State, with a special emphasis on turtle tagging and tracking project begun by former Peace Corps volunteer Jennifer Johnson on the Ulithi Atoll.

The partnership will enable Habele to offer an additional scholarship in the 2007-08 school year. Habele, a nonprofit founded by a group of young Americans with teaching experience in the Outer Islands, works to promote educational opportunity and accomplishment in the most isolated areas of Micronesia. Visit www.habele.org for more details.

The Economist recently published an excellent piece on the power of educational vouchers. The article argues that greater parental choice in K-12 education correlates with improved student performance, and not merely from the so-called "skimming" of smart students or "self-selection" by ambitious parents.

Harry Patrinos, an education economist at the World Bank, cites a Colombian programme to broaden access to secondary schooling, known as PACES, a 1990s initiative that provided over 125,000 poor children with vouchers worth around half the cost of private secondary school. Crucially, there were more applicants than vouchers. The programme, which selected children by lottery, provided researchers with an almost perfect experiment, akin to the "pill-placebo" studies used to judge the efficacy of new medicines. The subsequent results show that the children who received vouchers were 15-20% more likely to finish secondary education, five percentage points less likely to repeat a grade, scored a bit better on scholastic tests and were much more likely to take college entrance exams.

Habele's donor-financed scholarships are another type of voucher; a privately funded one. Currently, we are in the midst of our annual summer fundraising drive. Special thanks to recent donors Valerie, Jay, Ana, Charlotte, and Josh. We hope to continue this drive and complete our goal of two full scholarships by summer's end.

We at Habele see this type of merit-based privately-financed scholarship as an excellent tool for promoting educational opportunity and accomplishment in the the remote outer islands of Micronesia's Yap State. To learn more about the Habele Outer Island Education Fund, visit our website www.habele.org.

American Blogger and Yap State resident R. K. Ledgerwood posted about the FSM Justice Department's search and seizure of documents belonging to former FSM Ambassador to the US Jesse B. Marehalau. The "raid" occurred on the Atoll of Ulithi. There are numerous posting about the incident at the Micronesian Seminar’s online discussion forum.

The United States Postal Service has announced the re-adoption of a range of postal services to Pacific Islands associated with the United States, including the Federated States of Micronesia. Postal support from the US has long been an important part of the US-FSM Compact.

Pacific Island leaders announced a desire to build partnerships with the US, rather than merely remain consumers of the superpower’s aid. Meanwhile Taiwan (ROC) has pledged over $1 million in development aid for projects throughout the Pacific.

Habele is a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of educational opportunity and accomplishment in the Outer Islands of Micronesia.

A group of graduating seniors from the University of South Carolina have been working with Habele to send their lightly used clothing to students at the Outer Island High School on the Atoll of Ulithi.

"This is a great chance for us to clear out our dorms as we graduate and help out the Islanders in the process" explained Megan Cott, a business and economics major who spearheaded the drive. Habele donors from throughout the US have been sending in financial support as part of an ongoing summer fundraising drive. This money will help pay for the shipment of the donated clothing, as well for the awarding of Habele’s annual scholarships.

"We have all been busy with finals, projects, graduation plans, and job seeking" said Lauren Johnson, an advertising and public relations major, "but this has been a great chance to support needy students in the Outer Islands!"

To learn more about Habele’s role in supporting educational opportunity and accomplishment in the isolated Outer Islands of Micronesia visit www.habele.org

Habele has begun it’s fundraising drive for the 2007-08 school year. The Fund, an IRS recognized nonprofit organization, is looking to raise $3,000 in order to pay for two scholarships for Outer Island students attending boarding schools in Micronesian district centers. More details in the coming weeks. Check out our new promotional brochure designed by a Habele volunteer in Kentucky.

Habele is also working with students from the University of South Carolina who are compiling donations of clothing for Outer Island students. If you are interested in helping, please let us know!

In regional news…

Former Governor of Yap State John Mangefel died at age 75. In addition to serving as the state’s first Chief Executive, Mangefel played a major role in the US-run TTPI administration of the district, and he served in both chambers of the FSM’s National Legislature. Mangel was a staunch advocate of a formal Palau-Yap Union.

Island leaders concluded the PIJAAG summit on HIV in Pohnpei. Initial discussions focused on regional initiatives, with particular emphasis on increasing the support of agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control for the Pacific Regional Strategy on HIV.

The Federated States of Micronesia reiterated its concern about global climate change at the United Nations. The discussion was part of a Security Council debate on the topic.

Guam’s Pacific Daily News published an article about Chuukese-born Micronesians who are living in Guam. The author notes that transition difficulties [can] occur when Chuukese cultural mannerisms clash with those of Western society. The paper also points out that the population of Chuukese is the fastest growth segment on Guam.

Green Valley News in Arizona reported on local resident Dr. Lee Vensel’s Navy experiences in the Pacific, including time spent on Ulithi.

Visit habele.org to learn more about the Outer Islands of Micronesia and how YOU can help foster educational oppurtunity and accomplishment there.

Last week we noted that Miriam K. Hughes was nominated by the White House to serve as Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

The Federated States, or simply “Micronesia,” is a collection of four island groupings in the Central Pacific. The islands were once administered by the United States Department of Interior as part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific. The FSM now enjoys a position of "Free Association" with the US. The reliance of the FSM on US economic assistance results in a complicated relationship between the two nations.

You can read a brief bio of Miriam K. Hughes on the original White House Personnel Announcement dated April 4, 2007. She is listed in the third paragraph. Hughes is characterized as a career civil servant.

In her position as head of the economic and social development section of the US mission to the UN Hughes she issued a wide range of statements on US foreign policy and international affairs.

In November of 2006 she criticized the newly formed but contentious UN Human Rights Council as "a disappointment". Her statement reaffirmed the position adopted by the US in March of 2006 of not seeking a seat on the Council because of concerns about the narrow focus and limited credibility of that body.

In her work at the UN she has also:

- called for stronger humanitarian responses to the crises in Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and northern Uganda;

- defended the importance of a strong private sector , a positive investment climate, the rule of law, and property rights in pursuing international development goals;

- and quoted First lady Laura Bush who has advocated for increased emphasis on gender in development. Hughes further described education as a birthright, and vital to the attainment of political power and economic strength.


The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of educational opportunity and accomplishment in the remote Outer Islands of Micronesia. We provide scholarships to students attending private schools and book donations for public schools. Toward this end we also work to keep US based donors informed about events in Micronesia. To learn how you can help, visit Habele.org!