Habele Fund will donate copies of two-way Ulithian-English book to students, educators and aid workers

Published: Saturday, September 4, 2010 7:46 AM HST

The picturesque atoll of Ulithi, located in the Central Pacific, is home to 700 islanders. These Micronesians live on a chain of coral islands a thousand miles east of the Philippines. Most have learned to read and write in English, but their native Ulithian language remains largely undocumented.

A U.S.-based charity is looking to help. The Habele Outer Island Education Fund just published a Ulithian-to-English and English-to-Ulithian Dictionary. Copies of this first comprehensive Ulithian dictionary will be donated to students, educators and aid workers.

Historically, there has been little agreement between speakers about the spelling of Ulithian, a problem for both young islanders learning to read and write in English, as well as for English-speaking U.S. Peace Corps volunteers teaching on the islands.
"We've worked hard to create a consistent and intuitive pattern of Roman alphabet spelling," explained John Hancock, a Habele linguist and dictionary co-author. "This makes the Ulithian-to-English transition simpler for students in elementary and middle schools."

There are four inhabited islands in the Atoll of Ulithi, itself part of a larger archipelago that spans hundreds of miles across the States of Yap and Chuuk in the Central Pacific nation of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). These so-called "Outer" or "Neighboring Islands" lack the population density and educational resources found in the larger state capitals of Yap and Chuuk. A perceived lack of opportunity has fueled emigration that threatens the existence of the many distinctive Outer Island languages.

Despite various attempts over the past few decades, Micronesian Outer Island languages such as Ulithian, Woleaian, and Satawalese lack stable spelling systems. Non-native speakers have found the scattering of existing language materials to be confusing, inconsistent, and even unhelpful.

"An important secondary goal of this ongoing project is the documentation of Ulithian, a distinctive Trukic Language in the Austronesian family, observed Neil Mellen, Habele founder and board member.

"More and more families are moving in from the Outer Islands to live on Yap Proper and the distinctions between Ulithian, Woleaian and Satawalese have become less clear as the result of intermarriage and greater exposure to English language media."

Worldwide, there are an estimated 3,000 living Ulithian speakers.

The language is spoken natively on the islands of Falalop, Mogmog, Federai, and Asor on the Ulithi Atoll, as well as the Island of Fais, 40 miles to the west.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization. It was established in 2006 by a group of former Peace Corps Volunteers and works to expand educational access and accomplishment across Micronesia.

The group awarded 18 scholarships to Outer Island students attending private elementary and high schools during the 2009-10 school year.

Copyright © 2010 - Hawaii Tribune-Herald


http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2010/09/04/features/features03.txt

Share

Twenty-one students from across Micronesia will enroll in prestigious private schools this fall with the help of scholarships from the Habele Outer Island Education Fund.

The students, whose families come from isolated islands and atolls throughout Yap and Chuuk States, have been awarded tuition assistance covering 75 percent of the cost of their 2010-11 enrollment. They will be attending independent K-12 schools on the islands of Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei, where most will live with relatives or sponsors for the length of the school year.

Habele is a US-based charity that awards scholarships to Micronesian students each fall. Since 2006, the organization has provided over $17,000 in tuition assistance, as well as hundreds of boxes of donated books for public school libraries.  The group also published a comprehensive Ulithian-English Dictionary earlier this year for island educators.

“Every child from every island deserves access to an effective and appropriate classroom,” explains Alex Sidles, a Habele board member. Sidles observed that scholarships for low-income and isolated students also had a broader impact. “We are working to change attitudes and expectations… when parents see that students from their community can excel academically they come to expect –even demand– more from all types schools.”


Sidles and other former teachers established Habele to meet the strong local demand for greater educational access. This year’s scholarship winners come from the islands of Ulithi, Fais, Eauripik, Woleai and Satewal in Yap State and from Ta, Lekinoch and Kutu in Chuuk State.   More than 50 students from throughout Micronesia applied for tuition support for the 2010 school year. 

“My parents and I really want to thank Habele for everything they’ve done for us,” writes Maia Lesarof, a fifth grade student from Falalop Woleai who attends Saint May’s School in Yap.  Rising High School senior Parkey Mwarike of Kuttu in Chuuk echoes Maia’s enthusiasm: “Again, this year, without the help, I could not afford to attend Saramen Academy.”

The “Outer” or “Neighboring” Islands are a loosely connected group of islands and atolls that stretch across the Central Pacific Ocean, slightly north of the Equator. The term “outer” derives from their location outside of the larger, more densely populated islands now serving as the state capitals of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A strong traditional culture, focused on fishing, weaving and gardening still guides daily life in the Outer Islands of Micronesia.

“These islands remain some of the most isolated and underdeveloped areas on the planet,” said Neil Mellen, another Habele board member. Nationwide, one-in-three Micronesians live below the basic needs poverty line, but the rate is much higher in the Outer Islands. “Families and island leaders keep telling us that education is the key for the lives of their children and the future of their communities.”   

In 1976, Mr. Piailug made international headlines when -- using nothing but nature's clues and the lessons he'd learned from his grandfather, a master navigator schooled in traditional Micronesian wayfaring -- he steered a traditional sailing canoe more than 3,000 miles from Hawaii to Tahiti. 

The journey was a project of the Honolulu-based Polynesian Voyaging Society, co-founded by anthropologists interested in the enduring mystery of how the Pacific's scattered islands, often separated by hundreds of miles of water, had become populated by peoples who lacked nautical technologies such as the compass and sextant. 

Many scientists had believed that Polynesians, unable to navigate across vast seas, had arrived on various islands by accident when their boats had floated off course. Mr. Piailug's feat showed insteadthat indigenous peoples could indeed have deliberately explored and colonized Pacific islands. 

Featured in a National Geographic special, the journey also showed the world that traditional navigation was rooted in profound skill. Among Pacific peoples, who were fast becoming westernized, it led to a resurgence of cultural pride and a renewed interest in ancient wayfaring skills. 

"The rebirth of non-instrument navigation came about largely due to this man, Mau Piailug," said former Smithsonian secretary Lawrence Small at a 2000 ceremony in Washington honoring Mr. Piailug (pronounced Pee-EYE-lug). 

He became an eager teacher, breaking with tradition to share among cultures his closely guarded navigation secrets that had traditionally been passed down only within families.

More donated books are headed to James Martin and Susan Guarin.

James is a Peace Corps Volunteer serving on the Atoll of Ulithi and Susan is the Librarian at the College of Micronesia (COM) on Yap Proper.

The need for these types of donations is stark. Ulithi is one of the Outer Islands of Yap State,  the most remote and impoverish part of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

Yap Proper, the state capital, is home over 5,000 Yapese and Outer Islanders. The library at COM there received extensive damage during a recent typhoon.

The donation, totaling over 25 brimming boxes of books, was assembled by three students from the University of California, Berkley. Amelia (who has helped organize similar donations in the past) worked with Kim and Katie to compile, box, and ship the books to the elementary and high school libraries located on the Island of Falalop and the COM library outside of Colonia, Yap.

The girls were also joined by Noah and Souren, engineering students at Cal Poly. All five are former members of the high school robotics team at Chaminade College Prep.

To learn more about support of public school and libraries, as well as student scholarships in the Central Pacific, visit www.habele.org.

You can always view photos of book donations and scholarship winners at Habele's Picasa Web Album.

Share

Peace Corps Volunteer Benjamin Gruver has contacted Habele about tuition scholarships for students he is teaching in Chuuk, Micronesia.

Ben is also raising money for a Peace Corps Partnership project through the Peace Corps website. 

He explains, "If you belong to a RPCV group or know a lot of people with an interest in Micronesia, I would appreciate it if you ask them to donate a financial contribution to my project." 

Please visit to the website and click "Donate to Volunteer Projects" located on the left of the screen.  Ben's project number is number 401-139 and titled "Improved Community Access to Water."

You check out Ben's blog here.

Share

Helene Hofman recently interviewed Neil Mellen of the Habele Outer Island Education Fund on Radio Australia.

The topic was Habele's new Ulithian-English Dictionary, a unprecedented and innovative text designed for students on the Ulithi Atoll and Island of Fais in Yap State, Micronesia.

ABC Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia's public broadcaster.

Here is the link:


http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201005/s2899190.htm

Share

The picturesque Atoll of Ulithi, located in the Central Pacific, is home to 700 islanders. These Micronesians live on a chain of coral islands a thousand miles east of the Philippines. Most have learned to read and write in English, but their native Ulithian language remains a largely undocumented.

A US-based charity is looking to help. The Habele Outer Island Education Fund just published a Ulithian-to-English and English-to-Ulithian Dictionary. Copies of this first comprehensive Ulithian dictionary will be donated to students, educators and aid workers.

Historically, there has been little agreement between speakers about the spelling of Ulithian, a problem for both young islanders learning to read and write in English, as well as for English speaking U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers teaching on the islands.

“We’ve worked hard to create a consistent and intuitive pattern of Roman alphabet spelling,” explained John Hancock, a Habele linguist and dictionary co-author. “This makes the Ulithian-to-English transition simpler for students in elementary and middle schools.”

There are four inhabited islands in the Atoll of Ulithi, itself part of a larger archipelago that spans hundreds of miles across the States of Yap and Chuuk in the Central Pacific nation of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). These so-called “Outer” or “Neighboring Islands” lack the population density and educational resources found in the larger state capitals of Yap and Chuuk. A perceived lack of opportunity has fueled emigration that threatens the existence of the many distinctive Outer Island languages.

Despite various attempts over the past few decades, Micronesian Outer Island languages such as Ulithian, Woleaian, and Satawalese lack stable spelling systems. Non-native speakers have found the scattering of existing language materials to be confusing, inconsistent, and even unhelpful.

“An important secondary goal of this ongoing project is the documentation of Ulithian, a distinctive Trukic Language in the Austronesian family, observed Neil Mellen, Habele founder and board member. “More and more families are moving in from the Outer Islands to live on Yap Proper and the distinctions between Ulithian, Woleaian, and Satawalese have become less clear as the result of intermarriage and greater exposure to English language media.”

Worldwide, there are an estimated 3,000 living Ulithian speakers. The language is spoken natively on the islands of Falalop, Mogmog, Federai, and Asor on the Ulithi Atoll, as well as the Island of Fais, 40 miles to the southeast.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is an all-volunteer non-profit organization. It was established in 2006 by a group of former Peace Corps Volunteers and works to expand educational access and accomplishment across Micronesia. The group awarded 18 scholarships to Outer Island students attending private elementary and high schools during the 2009-10 school year.



Share

"I think the island is in serious danger of sinking after the amount of books we received."

That is how Peace Corps Volunteer James Martin described the arrival of boxes of donated books sent to the Outer Island High School (OIHS) on the Island of Falalop.

Falalop is one of four inhabited islands on the Atoll of Ulithi, in Yap State, Micronesia.

This other donations to Micronesia's Outer Islands was coordinated by Habele. Habele is a group of former Peace Corps Volunteers and other Americans with an interest in expanding access to quality classroom instruction in the central Pacific.

Learn more about this book donation and the hard working students at Chaminade College Prep in West Hills, California who organized it here.