Decyann Pete, a junior at Yap Catholic High School, earned a third place finish in the prestigious 2014 Maryknoll International Essay Contest.

The contest's theme centered on a quote of Pope Francis. Speaking to young people as "architects of the future," the Holy Father implored them to, "Have courage. Go forward. Make Noise."

Students worldwide were asked to write a letter to Pope addressing that topic. Over 7,000 high school students from around the globe submitted their works.

In her letter, Decyann wrote about her involvement with the Ocean One Choir, The First Friday Planning Team which helps plan youth events in churches throughout Yap, as well as "the Flying Proas," the YCHS traditional sailing team which won its first race at this year's Canoe Festival.

Decyann, a native of Satawal, attends Yap Catholic with the help of a Habele Scholarship.

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Each year since 2012, students from two independent high schools on Yap have held a “Robo Day” exhibition. The fast paced event showcases the technical accomplishments of the student robotics teams for the People of Yap. These annual Robo Day competitions at the Colonia civic center last only a few hours but reflect the hard work of students and teachers throughout the entire school year.

Soon, students from a third school –Yap Public High School– may be joining in on “Robo Day” as well.

Vex robotics teams were established at the Yap SDA School and Yap Catholic High School in the fall of 2011. The US based charity “Habele” coordinated the donation of robotics kits from students from the robotics team at Chaminade College Preparatory High School in West Hills, California.  The pan-Pacific partnership included materials, instructional videos, and peer-to-peer encouragement.

Working with support from the team at Chaminade, as well as the instruction from their own schools’ teachers, the student teams at SDA and YCHS have grown steadily ever since. Members design, build, and compete mechanically complex robots, learning important Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills in a hands-on fashion. Many of the students initially involved with the teams have since graduated and moved onto higher education in STEM fields, in large part due to their experiences with the Robo League.


Now, through the generous investment of the Matson Foundation, materials and support are being provided to update and expand the Robo League. Once again American students at Chaminade have gathered and assembled materials to supply teams in Yap. These heavy and large donations have been organized by Habele, and delivered to educators on Yap through the financial support of Matson, a Pacific-wide public shipping company with a celebrated history of philanthropy and community engagement. Teams at Yap Catholic and the SDA School will be re-provisioned, and materials will be offered to educators at Yap Public High School for the creation of a new team.



Jamie Mooteb, a college-bound senior at YCHS cites the Robo League as a source of personal inspiration. "I’ve hoped to study engineering ever since joining the robotics club freshman year." "I'm really excited about the newly donated equipment,” Jamie continued.  “It will be cool to have all three high schools compete. Thanks to Matson and the students at Chaminade High School for making this possible!"



Bernie Valencia, General Manager, Matson Guam, echoed Jamie’s enthusiasm. “Matson’s employees and their families are proud to partner with Habele, investing in the students and schools of Yap. Matson knows first hand how science and engineering are the key to innovation and growth; that makes the Robo League so special to us.”

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With the second quarter of the school year well underway, first quarter report cards from Habele Tuition Scholarship winners have begun to arrive.

Habele's merit- and need-based scholarships allow students from the most isolated islands and villages of Micronesia (FSM) to attend prestigious independent schools in the district capitols. Recipient families provide Habele with report cards, photos, letters, and other indicators of their students' progress over the course of the school year.

Students at these schools -and Habele scholars in particular- are several times more likely their than peers to consistently attend school, graduate on-time, and transition successfully into post secondary education.

"I will [sic] write to say thank you Habele for your assistance in paying my tuition," explained second grader Peter attending Berea Christian Academy in Chuuk. "I hope you can continue helping me so I can attend this school again," continued Peter, a native of Nema, an island in the Mortlocks. He earned all "A's" save a single "B" in reading in the first quarter of the 2014-15 school year.

Other Habele programs serving students across Micronesia and Palau include traditional skills mentorships, sports teams, high school robotics competitions, and book donations.

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Habele, the US charity serving students in Micronesia, is sending carving tools to culture teachers in the outlying islands of Yap State.

The blades, files, stones and brushes will help expert mentors provide hands on instruction to students safely. "This donation is important for two reasons," explained Habele volunteer Alex Sidles.

"The work of master carvers in Micronesia  preserves intrinsically valuable cultural traditions and it also equips young men with the practical building skills required for life in the remotest parts of the Pacific."

Habele has a proud history of providing top grade equipment and other specialized support to public school culture teachers as well as Waa'gey, an acclaimed island based civic organization working to preserve traditional skills. "We are particularly grateful for the help of Curtis Loftis, the State Treasurer of South Carolina, for personally sponsoring this gift of top-notch tools," continued Sidles.

Other Habele programs serving students across Micronesia and Palau include tuition scholarships, sports teams, high school robotics competitions, and book donations.

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A group of young men from the Neighboring Islands who live on Yap Proper are training to compete in that Micronesian State's Island League Basketball competition.

Their team, called "Weyei," emerged from the boys' participation in "Waa'gey," an after school mentoring program. That group uses traditional cultural skills to teach high students discipline, teamwork and identity.

The boys are to be coached by Waa'gey Director Larry Raigetal of Lamotrek, and former Peace Corps Volunteer Garrett Johnson. The athletes began with a multi-week fundraising effort to earn funds for team jerseys.

US-based Habele, a charity established by former Peace Corps Volunteers, heard about the team and offered to help. "The boys worked hard to raise money and buy jerseys. Habele has designed, ordered and purchased Jerseys, asking the young men to use the money they obtained to support other local civic efforts on Yap," announced Habele volunteer and former Peace Corps Volunteer Scott Leis.

Habele has a proud history of provisioning eager Micronesian student athletes with quality clothing and equipment to compliment their skill and sportsmanship. The nonprofit also provides need- and merit-based tuition scholarships, support for extracurricular science programs, as well as donations to schools and libraries.

"The American people, and in particular those of us who've been lucky enough to spend time in the Islands, are proud of our decades long partnership with the people of Micronesia," explained Leis. "We are particularly grateful to Jeffrey C. Genzer and Colleen Stewart Genzer, who served as Peace Corps Volunteers on Yap in the early 1980s, for sponsoring this important project." Mr. Genzer is a partner at the Washington-based Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke law firm.

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A dozen bright young island students are headed to top private schools across the central Pacific nation of Micronesia. Their tuition scholarships, awarded by the Habele charity, were announced during a small ceremony at the Micronesian Embassy in Washington DC earlier this week.

Among the winners was Griselda Muut of Yap. She will be a sophomore at Yap Catholic High School (YCHS) this fall. Giselda lives with her mother Mary Layan and younger sister Margo in the Village of Kaday, a part of Weloy Municipality. Their father is deceased. Mary is an engaged parent who describes her daughter’s school enthusiastically as “challenging” and “demanding.” Rev. Michael Corcoran, the Jesuit headmaster of YCHS, explains Griselda, “worked extremely hard and earned 1st honors for the last quarter of her freshman year.” Miss Mutt is also active in village and school based athletic programs, in addition to participating in her village’s traditional cultural dance ensemble.

The scholarships are privately funded and cover roughly three-fourths of tuition and fees at primary and secondary schools. More than 150 students from Yap, Chuuk, and Pohnpei States of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) applied, seeking to attend independent, mostly religiously affiliated, elementary and high schools in the State Capitals.


Winners were chosen based on academic achievement, financial hardship and geographic isolation. The students will be enrolling at Saint Mary’s, Yap SDA and Yap Catholic High School in Yap; Berea Christian and Xaiver High in Chuuk; as well as Calvary Christian Academy in Pohnpei.

Miss Muut is one of several 2014-15 awardees who earned a renewal of their Habele scholarship from last school year. Over the course of the academic year, Griselda and others regularly provided Habele with copies of their quarterly grades, academic and behavioral reports and awards, as well as photos of themselves engaged in extracurricular activities.

“This modest program expands access to top notch instruction for ambitious students in Micronesia’s most remote villages, islands and atolls,” explained Neil Mellen, of the US-based Habele, which awarded the scholarships.  “The demand for these choice scholarships far exceeds our ability to provide them. We are grateful so many private US and European individuals have chosen to make this targeted investment.”

Habele was established as a South Carolina based nonprofit in 2006 by a group of former Peace Corps Volunteers who served as public school teachers in Micronesia. The charity provides support for libraries, sports leagues, STEM clubs and mentorship programs in addition to its annual tuition scholarships.

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NIMGIL, Yap (YCHS News, June 08, 2014) — Thanks to the support of both Habele and Waa'gey, twelve YCHS students were able to participate in this year's Robotics program.  The students and their coaches, Mr. Michael Wiencek and Mr. Darrell Holloman, began working on the robots in January. The teams met at least once a week throughout the spring semester and practiced with the robots every day within the final weeks before the annual Yap Robo-Day Competition against the Seventh Day Adventist school.

In this year’s competition, two robots faced off head-to-head on a playing field divided into two halves by an 8 inch high wall. Tennis balls, foam soccer balls, and foam footballs were scattered throughout the playing field. The objective of the game was to place as many balls as possible onto the other team’s side of the wall.  The winning team was the one that had the least number of balls on their side of the wall at the end of two 5-minute rounds.


The YCHS team challenged themselves by designing and building three different robots. Each robot involved complex engineering.  Many different designs and prototypes were needed before the students were satisfied with their final products. Two of the robots created their own unique claw designs that could grab and lift balls, as well as battering rams to knock tennis balls off of the dividing wall. The third robot also included a battering ram, but used an innovative two-wheel system to trap balls into a reservoir and then shoot them through holes in the wall. The intricate designs showed a great deal of understanding and creativity from the students.


On Tuesday, May 27, YCHS organized the 3rd Annual Yap Robo-Day. The day began with exciting volleyball and basketball competitions between YCHS and SDA. During the day, YCHS students also sold local food and coconuts as a school fundraiser.  The day concluded with the robotics competition which began with two of the YCHS robots competing against each other to demonstrate the rules of the game. In the final match, two sophomore drivers—Annalyn Tareg and Kobe Sacres—took home the State Championship title for YCHS for the third year in a row.

Congratulations to our entire robotics team and thanks to all of those who make the Robotics program possible on Yap!

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A South Carolina based nonprofit has sent a thousand English language dictionaries to the picturesque Island of Pohnpei. Its one of four states in the Central Pacific Ocean that make up the string of islands called the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The dictionaries include an abbreviated atlas, something local island students can use to learn more about distant North American geography.

This unique donation is enough to provide every eighth grade student across Pohnpei State with something previously unheard of – a dictionary of their very own.


More than forty boxes of books will soon arrive in the Pohnpeian city of Kolonia. They will be distributed to the 900 eighth grade students who are enrolled in the roughly 30 public schools across Pohnpei and its Outer Islands. Dictionaries are also enroute to eighth grade students at the Pohnpei SDA School, Calvary Christian Academy, and the Pohnpei Catholic School, as well as readers at the downtown public library.


The donation is particularly meaningful as Pohnpei, like all the isolated islands in the Central Pacific, struggles with economic and educational challenges. Among those lucky enough to enroll in the nation’s two-years community college system, only a tiny fraction will earn a degree, according to recent data from the US Government. Per-capita income remains under $3,000 per year and many families still rely on subsistence fishing and farming.

The donation was organized by Columbia based "Habele," a group of former Peace Corps Volunteers who served as teachers in Micronesia. They partnered with Ray and Barbara Dalio of Connecticut. Their Dalio Family Foundation provided the vision and support to design and implement the project.

Larry Raigetal, A Habele volunteer from nearby Yap State, helped piece together the effort. “This donation is exactly what local educators and librarians told us they needed. It’s a huge opportunity, particularly those students struggling with generational poverty.” Raigetal is also the founder of “Waa’gey” a nonprofit in Yap that works to preserve traditional skills, and has partnered with Habele on projects in that State. He spent several weeks in Pohnpei this winter working to develop plans for the donation of the dictionaries.

South Carolina based charity Habele has been working in Micronesia since 2006. In addition to coordinating donations of text, reference and reading books, the group awards scholarships and provides support to community-based after school programs. These include traditional dugout canoe carving (through the Waa'gey organization) and Micronesia's first ever-high school robotics team exhibition. Late last year, Habele created a computer lab for Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School and provided cases of donated books to the Pohnpei Public Library


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