Kolonia Elementary School needs your help!

The school’s library desperately needs books, both for students, as well as for their parents and other community members who enjoy reading.

Kolonia Elementary School (KES) is located in the heart of Kolonia Town, state capital of Phonpei, Micronesia. It serves 600 students, from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade, from all around Pohnpei –including the outer islands. It also enrolls children from the Philippines and Fiji living with their families on Pohnpei, making it one of the most diverse schools in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).


Along with the Principal, Vice Principal and Librarian, KES is served by over 40 dedicated teachers, educators, and regular volunteers. In the fall of 2017, Parent Teacher Association President Richard  Porter reached out to Habele, a US-based nonprofit that organizes financial and in-kind donations for students throughout the Freely Associated States.

Mr. Porter explained:

We are in the process of getting our school's library up and running for all students, but are seriously lacking books for the students…
KES Library would love to have books, especially those catering to Kindergarten through Eighth graders (fiction and non-fiction) to include reference books and magazines.  Any and all donations are greatly appreciated!

You can help put books in the hands of these eager readers.

If you can purchase or gather books, please do so. Then provide Habele with the weight, dimensions, and a rough packing list of the closed box. Habele will mail you pre-paid postage, address labels, and customs paperwork in a sealed pouch to affix to the outside of the box. You can take the box to the US Post Office, bypassing the lines, and drop it off at the counter for its journey to Pohnpei.

If you’d prefer to make a financial donation, then Habele (a US-based IRS recognized nonprofit) will use the money to pay for the shipment of others’ book donations to the school.


Habele was established by former Peace Corps Volunteers –many of them classroom teachers and librarians- and other Americans looking to provide targeted support for students and schools across Micronesia. We are proud of our decade of work advancing educational opportunity through scholarships, exchanges, robotics, extracurricular programs, and assistance to libraries throughout the FAS.

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(Colonia, Yap) A dozen Micronesian students are headed to prestigious private schools this fall, thanks to Habele K-12 tuition scholarships. These students will attend the independent school of their family’s choosing.

Described as “an investment in human capital,” these grants are funded by donations from former Peace Corps Volunteers, tourists, and other Americans with a personal connection to Micronesia.

Local ownership and sustainability are emphasized throughout the scholarship process by incorporating competition, incentives, and publicity. Habele is an all-volunteer charity based in South Carolina, and relies on private contributions to fund its scholarship programs. Since 2006, Habele has provided nearly $75,000 in targeted tuition assistance for Micronesian students.

Many of the scholars’ families come from isolated islands and atolls spanning Yap and Chuck States. They have been awarded tuition assistance covering 50 to 100 percent of their 2017-18 tuition and fees. These students will attend independent K12 schools on the State Capital islands of Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei that have among the highest completion rates, test scores, and post-secondary placements in the nation. Most students will be housed throughout the school year with relatives or host families.

The beautiful –and strategically located- islands of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) struggle with isolation and limited natural resources. Comprised of many small islands, languages, and ethnic groups, the Federation was organized in 1986 as an independent republic in free association with the United States. US aid sustains an economy dominated by the public sector. Those bilateral payments are set to expire in 2023.

Habele’s funding is always focused on individual students, not districts or schools. Each year, applications out-pace scholarship awards by nearly ten-to-one. Other Habele efforts include sending thousands of boxes of donated books to public school libraries, providing equipment for school sports clubs and specialty equipment for innovative extracurricular programs.

Established by former Peace Corps volunteers, Habele’s singular mission is the advancement educational access and accomplishment in Micronesian communities. "For a decade now, ambitious Habele scholars have been making their families, teachers, and communities proud through incredible academic achievement," noted a Habele Director. "Extending ambitious students the opportunity to succeed is the simple part."

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A dozen students from across Micronesia will enroll in prestigious private schools this fall with the help of Habele tuition scholarships. Attendance at these schools radically increases the children’s’ chances of completing school and moving on to higher education.

The investment isn’t coming from a top-down government aid program or an influence peddling foreign conglomerate, it arrives care of Habele, a tiny all-volunteer charity funded entirely by individual Americans with a personal commitment to Micronesia.

The students, whose families come from isolated islands and atolls throughout Yap and Chuuk States, have been awarded tuition assistance covering 50 to 100 percent of the cost of their 2016-17 enrollment. They will be attending top ranked independent K-12 schools on the islands of Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei. Most will live with relatives or sponsors for the length of the school year.

Picturesque and strategically located, the far-flung islands of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) struggle with isolation and limited natural resources. For decades, the crudely named “Office of Insular Affairs” at the US Department of the Interior has managed huge government-to-government payments to Micronesia, making the FSM the world’s largest per capita recipient of US foreign aid. That OIA controlled money has translated into neither broad educational access, nor measured educational accomplishment for most Micronesian students. The void represents a staggering need for privately funded efforts such as Habele's.

Since 2006, Habele has provided over $68,000 in tuition assistance, funding individual students, not districts or schools. It has also sent thousand of boxes of donated books for public school libraries and provisioned after school and extracurricular programs with specialty tools and equipment.

Established by former Peace Corps volunteers, Habele is a US based nonprofit, advancing educational access and accomplishment in Micronesian communities. In addition to tuition scholarships and student exchange programs, Habele supports innovative student mentorship programs, hands-on STEM instruction, and youth athletic leagues.



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Wonderful email from Peace Corps Volunteer Sarah Winston, working with educators and families in Pohnpei:

Dear Habele team!
Thank you so much for sending those amazing books to the library, words cannot adequately express how thankful my students and community are for your generous contribution.  

Please see the attached photo of some students and community members, and expect something in the mail (snail mail) soon! 

Thanks again, Sarah

Habele is proud to be a small part of the success achieved by the educators and engaged families at the Temwen School, located in the Madolenihmw municipality of Pohnpei.


Habele is an all volunteer, US-based, IRS-recognized nonprofit. Help us answer the call!

or send check or money order to  Habele, 701 Gervais St, STE 150-244, Columbia, SC 29201.
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For a decade, we've served ambitious students from the most remote Micronesian Islands.

This past year presented new challenges to Habele. Super Typhoon Maysak uprooted many of the communities and schools we support. A new category of educationally-displaced students emerged.

Outer Island schools remain in disarray. Most families lack the resources for alternatives. Habele continues to receive scholarship applications from these displaced students, as well as families across Micronesia seeking the best classroom for their child. As in years past, demand greatly exceeds our limited resources.

For under $600, Habele can place ambitious students in top schools in the state capitals for an entire school year. Our goal is to award twenty, K12 student scholarships in 2016. With your help we can make it happen.

In addition to funding scholarships, money raised now sustains the only high school robotics league in the Central Pacific, a vibrant traditional skills mentorship program, and direct-to-schools library donations.

This yearly plea is the only time Habele raises money. As an all-volunteer nonprofit, we channel contributions to our locally-defined programs, not aggressive fundraising efforts. By contributing, and urging friends and family to get involved, you empower ambitious Micronesian students to define and pursue their own futures.

Please make a donation to Habele today. We are an IRS-recognized nonprofit, so you may be eligible for a tax deduction.

Thank you for your continued support!

or send check or money order to  Habele, 701 Gervais St, STE 150-244, Columbia, SC 29201.

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In July of 2015, Habele sounded the call. An eager Peace Corps Volunteer, working with local educators and families, sought to restore a school based library in Pohnpei, Micronesia.

Temwen School is a small and rural Elementary school in the Madolenihmw municipality of Pohnpei. Temwen School has a small staff of seven teachers and one Peace Corps Volunteer; the Principal Elcid Joseph is a teaching principal.

The library had to be built from scratch. Staff members of Temwen Elementary School worked tirelessly to salvage books from all different areas of the school grounds. Then they renovated an older structure of the campus.



In her request for help, Librarian and Peace Corps Volunteer Sarah Winston conveyed a severe need and genuine local ownership in the plan to address it. We implored Habele's donors and volunteers, explaining "Book donations are vital for this project to succeed."


Habele is proud to report our generous donors and volunteers helped do just that!

As Sarah reports on her blog, "For months, almost a year, I have worked with my fellow teachers to create the Temwen Community Library. Many people living in America helped make the library a success by donating books, so thank you, your kindness has made this space a reality. To date we have approximately 1,300 books!"

Habele was proud to also provide the hardworking educators at Temwen with t-shirts as small token of our support for their great work!


Habele continues to collect donations of books -and money to pay for their delivery- to Temwen. We are also working to support similar efforts in Tomil on Yap and Eauripik in the Outer Islands of Yap. We have outstanding -and unmet- requests from school based libraries in North Fanif (Yap) and Satowan (Chuuk) as well.

Habele is an all volunteer, US-based, IRS-recognized nonprofit. Help us answer the call!

or send check or money order to  Habele, 701 Gervais St, STE 150-244, Columbia, SC 29201.

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