"Habele," a US-based charity serving Outer Island students in Micronesia, released it's annual report this week, detailing the nonprofit's accomplishments over the last year.

According to the report, the all-volunteer group provided 17 full tuition scholarships to low-income children attending private elementary and high schools in the Micronesian States of Yap, Chuuk, and Pohnpei. Habele also provided over sixty boxes of textbooks and donated school supplies to public schools on isolated islands throughout Yap and Chuuk.

Charitable work of this kind has received praise from FSM and US officials alike.

"The initiative of former Peace Corps Volunteers and teachers in supporting local-driven educational programs reflects the best hands-on spirit that we can share with the Federated States of Micronesia" explained Miriam K. Hughes, who served as US Ambassador to the Micronesia from 2007 to 2009.   

"Nonprofit outreach to schools and students in Micronesia has practical impact, building American partnership and bettering the lives of others who would otherwise not have a chance," continued Hughes.

The report includes letters from parents, students, and independent school teachers, detailing how these 17 children would be unable to attend the prestigious schools without the Habele scholarships, and expressing thanks to donors who invested in the childrens' educational futures.

In addition to providing details of private school tuition scholarships and public school donations, the document outlined Habele's plan to release a Ulithian-English dictionary during 2010. The text will be provided to students and teachers on Ulithi and Fais free-of-charge.

"We wanted to help Outer Island students by developing a commonsense Ulithian spelling system that preserves the local language and compliments phonics instruction for written and spoken English, " remarked Johnny Hancock, a linguist who is spearheading the effort for Habele.

The dictionary incorporates important developments in speech sounds and a phonological system that make the text useful for both young island students and native English speakers learning Ulithian.

Habele is an IRS recognized not-for-profit organization, incorporated in the State of South Carolina. The group was founded by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) and other Americans with an interest in educational development in the Pacific.

The full 2009 Habele Outer Island Education Fund Annual Report can be downloaded online at http://www.habele.org/documents.asp.



Share

CHINESE OFFER COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS
The Government of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is now offering scholarships for students from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) to attend universities in China for the school year beginning August 2010. The scholarship program is extended to the FSM to promote cooperation and exchange in the fields of education and culture between China and the FSM.

The program will support students who are interested in going to China for undergraduate and graduate degrees. The program fund will cover the cost of tuition, dormitory and a monthly allowance for meals and other basic necessities. International airfare for the students will be borne by themselves.

The Chinese Government will be accepting a maximum of 14 students this year under the scholarship program. Application forms are available at the FSM Department of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Palikir. Please contact the two respective offices directly for the deadline for submission of applications to the Chinese Embassy.

FRENCH GRANT FOR SOLAR POWER PROJECT
Governor Sebastian L. Anefal signed the Financial Agreement between the Yap State Government and the French European and Foreign Affairs Ministry for a €35,000.00 renewable energy grant. The Yap State Public Service Corporation (YSPSC) will be final recipient of the grant. The full amount, which is estimated at around fifty thousand US Dollars, will be used by YSPSC to set up on Ulithi a Photovoltaic (PV) system of 6kWp.


This summer lights went on island-wide for the first time on Faderai, one of the islets of Ulithi atoll in Yap. The electricity powering these lights is coming from the sun and it is captured and stored into large batteries by the FSM’s largest solar PV (photovoltaic) power plant.

The second phase of the project will be to conduct a wind assessment in the main island of Yap. The agreement stated that purchase of the solar materials will be done as soon as the agreement is signed and can take up to 5 months to reach the island. Installation of the material will follow; during a 3 month period. The wind assessment will take the whole project cycle and should be completed by October 30, 2010.

In a brief signing ceremony in the Governor’s Cabinet Room, Anefal took the opportunity to express sincere gratitude to the French Government on behalf of the people of Yap State for the grant. He said, the assistance will not only benefit YSPSC but the people of Yap.

PLANS FOR FIBER OPTIC CABLE
Federated States of Micronesia President Manny Mori held a meeting between members of the executive branch and the FSM Telecom Corp. to discuss the plan for the newly laid submarine fiber optic cable to Pohnpei and the connectivity issues of hooking up the other states.

Takuro Akinaga, general manager of FSM Telecom, provided a briefing on the FSMTC board’s decision to approve extra funding to upgrade the existing systems in all four FSM states to provide the infrastructure to allow for high speed internet, a larger capacity, and for cable TV.

This will be done by installing ADSL 2Plus, a new method of providing broadband Internet, which will allow for triple the Internet speeds that the islands currently see. It can also be able to be delivered over the existing telephone landlines, so it will be available to more customers.

Mori made it clear that all four FSM states should be connected to the high speed cable in order to enable them to have broadband connectivity which will provide social and economic development in each state.

FSM PRESIDENTS SPEAKS AT COPENHAGEN CLIMATE CONFERENCE
On December 16, 2009, President Manny Mori stood before the High Level Plenary at the Climate Change Negotiation Talks in Copenhagen Denmark, and gave his country remarks, asking the leaders present to save the planet, to save small islands, and to save the people of the FSM. In his brief remarks, the President highlighted four things that must be accomplished in Copenhagen to "seal the deal".

First, he asked that leaders act now to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Second, he told leaders they must address the non-CO2 warming agents, while they also address carbon, to prevent the climate system from spinning out of control. Third, he suggested that there be a focus to reduce concentrations of warming agents directly from the atmosphere. Then implementation of carbon-negative strategies can be done to return the high concentrations of greenhouse gases back to pre industrial levels.

Finally, President Mori spoke to the need of a financial mechanism to provide funding for the most vulnerable states, especially the small island developing states and the least developing countries, to combat and adapt to climate change.

A copy of the President's speech can be found by clicking here, or you can view his video presentation.
Share

Habele volunteers and donors will be eager to hear the Fund is set to release its annual report within the next two weeks.

Details of the report include over $10,500 in spending for the year, covering the tuition costs of 17 Outer Island students at private K12 schools.

The pie chart above provides an indication of how the Fund spent its money in 2009, with over 90 percent of expenditures directly dedicated to the scholarship and school supply programs.

Learn more about the Habele Outer Island Education Fund, and download copies of past annual reports, at www.habele.org

Share