This week a delegation of traditional culture experts from the Waa’gey organization travelled  to Yap Catholic High School for a presentation to the summer school students. Volunteers Joe Paiyar of Fachailap and Selestine Retewailam of Satawal spent several hours at the school talking to the students about canoe carving and traditional navigation.

Waa’gey founder Larry Raigetal accompanied the volunteers to supplement their presentations and provide translation into English when needed, and Habele member Alex Sidles was also present to talk to the students about scholarship opportunities.

Although most of the students at Yap Catholic were from Yap State, the Waa’gey presentation was for many the first time they had learned in detail about the various skills and practices required to build and operate a traditional sailing canoe. According to the Waa’gey members, such knowledge is in danger of being lost as society in Yap changes. As Raigetal explained, the purpose of Waa’gey is to remind young people of their heritage, even as they face the future.


Raigetal used the metaphor of a canoe to explain the value of teaching students cultural knowledge: “When a canoe is sailing toward a distant destination, the navigator always looks back at the point of departure to estimate how fast the canoe is drifting due to ocean currents. If he didn’t look back, he would have no reliable way of reaching his destination. We at Waa’gey  teach traditional skills as a way of giving young people the means to look back on where they came from, even as their lives take them to new places or new countries. Without a firm understanding of who they are, they would be as lost as a canoe that didn’t take note of its point of departure.”

Joer and Selestine illustrated their presentation using model canoes, sketches of canoes under construction, star charts, and wave pattern diagrams. Although the information was new to most of the students, they absorbed the concepts quickly. “Now you’re ready to a sail a canoe,” Selestine joked at the end of the presentation , although in fact it takes many years of study to acquire the full range of necessary skills.


Raigetal invited any interested students to come to the canoe house in Colonia and spend time with the Waa’gey volunteers who work there. “The canoe house is yours as much as it is ours,” said Raigetal, addressing the students. “Everything we do is for the purpose of teaching young people, so please come by any time you like!”


Share

In a simple traditional launching ceremony held at the Yap living history museum canoe houses, Larry Raigetal of Waa’gey thanked the invited guests for honoring Waa’gey carvers and volunteers by making time to attend the ceremony.  He went on to explain the ceremony, in a typical traditional setting, is one of several, and the final event to mark the completion stage of a canoe carving process.

“Hefaifoi” as the ceremony is termed usually allows for free flow of traditional knowledge and skills as well as criticism of the completed canoe by other master craftsmen present at the occasion.  The canoe marks the second sailing canoe completed by Waa’gey.

 Attending the ceremony were Lt. Governor Tony Tareg, several local master canoe carvers along with Waa’gey carvers and volunteers.  Special guests attending the ceremony included Yapital CEO Mr. Nils Winkler, Maren Winkler and their two sons Lex and John Winkler. Mr. Alex Sidles of Habele was also on site to attend the ceremony.  “This is a very important ceremony that attests to Waa’gey ‘s successful effort in ensuring that valuable knowledge passed down for many generations is kept intact by the future generations of Yap.  These skills are at high risk of being lost as modernization of these islands increases.  Waa’gey is doing the right thing in allowing this transfer of skills. We at Habele are happy to be part of this effort ,“ Sidles said.


Waa’gey is a locally chartered nonprofit organization that uses traditional skills to confront the challenges of tomorrow. Other components of Waa’gey projects include women weavers who are teaching younger girls such valuable skills.



Share

Non-profit organizations Habele and Waa’gey conducted a workshop for parents interested in obtaining Habele scholarships for their children in the 2013-2014 school  year.

The workshop was held in the afternoon at the community center in Colonia, Yap (Micronesia). Interested parents arrived throughout the day, and volunteers from Habele and Waa’gey were on hand to assist them in the application process. The workshop was the first of its kind for Habele, and around forty applications were received during the course of the event.

The workshop also marked the first time that Habele accepted scholarship applications from students from the main island of Yap. Previously, scholarships had been limited to outer island students only, due to Habele’s limited finances. This year, however, the contributions of several generous donors, especially the Germany-based financial services corporation Yapital, have made it possible for Habele to expand its scholarship program to Yapese students as well.

“Yapital has been a crucial partner in our ability to expand our scholarships this year,” said Habele board member Alex Sidles. “Without Yapital’s assistance, we wouldn’t be able to accept nearly as many students.”

The workshop on Yap enabled families without internet access to complete applications. “Not everyone has access to a computer or a printer,” said Larry Raigetal, of  Waa’gey  who assisted in organizing and conducting the workshop. “In fact, it’s often been the neediest families who have the hardest time getting their applications turned in.”

Due to the strong positive feedback Habele received from the community following the workshop, Habele plans to conduct a similar workshop on Yap every year. Habele will still accept scholarship applications over the internet, but the new annual workshop will enable families without internet access to apply. “We want to be as inclusive as possible when accepting scholarship applications. An annual workshop is the best way to do that,” said Sidles.

Habele will announce its decisions regarding scholarship applications in August. Families will be notified individually whether their student’s application has been approved or declined. In the case of a declined application, Habele encourages the family to apply again next year.


Share

A letter from the Habele Board President to donors and volunteers:

This has been a great year for Habele, and now we need your help in keeping our commitments to the ambitious students of Micronesia.

Since January, we’ve delivered dozens of boxes of dictionaries to students throughout Yap and Chuuk States. We’ve also provided specialized adze blades to master carvers in the Waa’gey canoe carving mentor program. Most exciting, we’ve partnered with schools in Yap to orchestrate our second annual high school robotics competition.

Now we are looking toward August 1st, when Habele announces its 2013-2014 Student Scholarships – and we need your help!

These scholarships offer students from remote islands and low-income families equal access to the quality instruction provided by Micronesia’s most effective independent schools.

Habele’s K-12 student scholarships serve a locally defined need. They raise community expectations of the power and utility of formal education. The scholarships are a targeted, transparent, and effective form of support for the most challenged segment of Micronesia’s population: students.

There are 24 Habele scholarships from the 2012-13 school year that we hope to renew (a 25th, is set to graduate high school!) There are dozens more additional applicants this year, some having applied each summer for several years.  The need far exceeds our ability to meet it, but at a minimum we are determined to keep our existing students who’ve met their report card goals enrolled next year. Average tuition at the schools where Habele scholars attend is just over $550 next year. In addition to the scholarship renewals, our hope is to provide further awards to the most deserving of the new applicants.

Please, consider making a donation to Habele today. Remember, we are an all-volunteer charity, with no paid employees. We are also an IRS-recognized nonprofit, so you may be eligible for a tax deduction.

Thank you for your support, -NM


Share

Shipments of cultural studies and art history books are headed to the Republic of Palau.

The donation, made by Habele, consists of copies of "Micronesian Arts and Crafts," "The Art of Micronesia," and a the newly released "Painting Palau's History." Each is authored by the esteem anthropologist and regional expert Barbara Wavell.

The books are headed to the Historic Preservation Office (HPO), the Palau National Museum, as well as public libraries. The hope is that both experts and lay readers alike will have easy access to the texts.


The newly published "Painting Palau's History" tells the story of Charles Gibbons. One of Palau's most famous artists, Gibbon's life spanned three Colonial administrations and saw many changes in Palauan society. His memories, expressed through his detailed and meticulous water color images of the past preserve cultural traditions and provide a valuable record of those early days. This work explores his life and art. Filled with vivid color illustrations, the book is visually striking and certain to be of interest to native readers in Palau.

"We've found that books dealing with regional topics are in high demand across the Central Pacific," says Neil Mellen, a Habele Director. "Anything we can do to develop an interest in reading among younger students -and sustain and indulge that interest among older community members- is great. Our experience is that books about the islands themselves often work best."

Habele is a US based nonprofit that has been supporting students across Micronesia since 2006. The charity's private school tuition scholarships, targeted literacy donations and innovative after school programs are designed to promore both educational access and accomplishment.

Share

The competition began with facilitator Larry Raigetal of  “Waa’gey,” who explained the ground and technical rules of the competition.  Raigetal also provided the audience with background information of the program, now in its second year. He explained how each school provided their student teams with classroom and after school instruction during the course of the school year. The Robo Day event marked a final display of progress and competition, but the goals of the ambitious extracurricular program were being met throughout the last nine months. Both teams had designed and built their robot from an elementary parts kit, honing and improving the robots' performance through trial and error over two semesters.

Each of the two-student team was given five minutes to operate their robots through the pre-determined game course during two timed rounds. The Yap SDA team won a coin tossing and was given the opportunity to lead off the first round. Both teams were tied at thirteen points after the first round.  Following some readjustments to the robots, the second round was given to Yap Catholic High School to lead off.   The final score for the game was 20 points for Yap Catholic High School and Yap SDA garnering 17 points.

The competition this year brought more excitement to the crowd as the two robots were greatly modified by the teams, allowing them to maneuver and move about the course at higher speeds than last year.  Both teams did exceptionally well in operating their robots. Fr. Michael Corcoran SJ Principal of Yap Catholic High School said he was very happy with the turn out and was most impressed at the improvement made by both robotic teams.  “Last year after the first round, the score was only 1-0” This is a huge improvement he said. Principal Ryan of Yap SDA shared Corcoran’s enthusiasm. Local television and media were also on site to interview the teams and their coaches following the event.

The US based charity “Habele” coordinated the event, with financial support from the European based electronic payments firm “Yapital." The Yap based Waa’gey organization organized the exhibition and served as a liaison to educators and team members throughout the school year. Larry Raigetal of Waa’gey declared the event a major success. “Not only did we see great improvements on the performance of the teams and their modified robots this year, the level of turn out and excitement of those who came only makes us want to work harder for a better event next year!”###


Share

Students and their mentors in the Waa'gey traditional canoe carving program are giving rave reviews to a set of new tools, provided in part by the US based charity Habele.

Adzes are a traditional tool used for carving or smoothing rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. They are most often used for squaring up logs, or for hollowing out timber. Long ago islanders in the Central Pacific used shell, coral, and sometimes even stones, for the blades of their woodened handled adzes. Today metal blades are fixed to the locally cut and carved handles.



For years, Waa'gey carvers had to salvage truck springs and other low-grade scrap metal in order to shape the blades. Now, master metalsmith Jim Wester of Waldron Island, Washington is forging high-grade, specialized blades for the group. The partnership was initiated and coordinated by Habele as part of that group's mission to serve K-12 aged students across Micronesia.

"Waa'gey's model of pairing master carvers and weavers with high school aged students is great. They are doing so much to revive and preserve the cultural heritage," said Alex Sidles, a Habele Director. "The efforts also fit perfectly within Habele's mandate to promote academic excellence and access" Sidles continued. "Like the high school robotics teams, this type of extracurricular program really compliments Habele's scholarships and library donations."

The international partnership between canoe carvers in Yap, a small charity in South Carolina and a metalsmith in Washington State has not gone unnoticed. Wester's shop is now offering similarly large and customized blades to other carvers across the world.



"Last year, I sold a few gutter adze irons to some carvers in the remote outer islands of Yap, Micronesia," Jim explains. "But they are building traditional dugout canoes and really want something more aggressive, for two handed work. So they commissioned me to make larger gutter irons, about 3 1/2 inches wide and five times heavier than my normal ones. Not only are they more powerful but also less taxing on the forearm than the single handed adzes."

Learn more about the Waa'gey program here.

Share

Students attending Chuuk High School have sent their thanks to Habele for donating English language dictionaries. The US-based charity provided the texts when approached by Vice Principal Jason Reiong.


Reiong wrote to Habele in late 2012, explaining: "I read about your organization in the Kaselehie Press and I was very happy with what your organization has being doing for all the schools across Micronesia. I am writing to ask if your charity could help our students at CHS with some dictionaries, such as those you've provided to students in Yap..."

Over the last several months, Habele volunteers and their partners obtained the dictionaries and sent them to Chuuk. The cost of postage and processing was funded by the European based electronic payments firm "Yapital." On his end, Reiong navigated the donated boxes through customs, the post office and the school system's own bureaucracy. He explains that the timing of the arrival allowed the dictionaries to be used by students preparing for their state and district achievement tests.


"Since the students started using the dictionaries -both in the class and at their homes in the evenings- we've seen the scores on the local assessment increase," Vice Principal Reiong explained in a gracious letter to Habele volunteers. "The higher scores, and the rise in our College of Micronesia (COM) admission rate are possible because of the thoughtful contributions from people like you."

This letter to the editor appeared April 9, 2013, on page A14 of the U.S. edition of the Wall Street Journal.

Regarding Neil Mellen's "A Pacific Island Prefers Chinese Investment to U.S. Welfare" (op-ed, April 2):

Mr. Mellen's focus on Micronesia's economic stagnation is illuminating. But the really alarming aspect of the growing Chinese presence on Yap he mentions only in passing -the Chinese expansion of Yap's seaport and airport. This is more than an economic development; it is potentially a military one. Are we really to be muscled out of the Pacific so easily?

Alex Sidles
Seattle, Washington

Share

For decades, American aid did little but promote dependency. Now here comes a Chinese entrepreneur.

This article appeared April 2, 2013, on page A13 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal.

A Micronesian island of about 39 square miles in the western Pacific will in the coming years become a destination for Chinese tourists if a massive resort complex proceeds as planned. The island, called Yap, is part of the Federated States of Micronesia and is strategically located at the crossroads of the Pacific, 500 miles southwest of the major U.S. military bases on Guam.

There are likely to be significant cultural, environmental and economic side effects from the project proposed by Chinese real-estate developer Deng Hong and his Exhibition and Travel Group, or ETG. Certainly a 4,000-room casino-and-golf complex would transform Yap. Yap State, a group of islands with a total population of 11,000, is one of the world's most isolated and traditional societies.

There will also likely be a shift of influence as the Chinese take de facto control over an airport and seaport—both will undergo major improvements for the development—at the heart of a region once termed "the American Pacific." The region is one that the post-World War II Pentagon promised would never again be ceded to foreign influence, as it had been to the Japanese in 1917.

Americans will be tempted to focus on growing Chinese influence in a former U.S. client state and strategic ally. Yet the real lesson is about America's 75-year failure to export one of its greatest assets: free-market capitalism. Since 1945, the U.S. has seemed to direct little more than state socialism to Micronesia and the rest of the American-affiliated Pacific.


The many billions of dollars sent to Micronesia in direct foreign aid was intended to finance the development of economic and political systems across these remote islands and atolls. The Micronesians have instead used the aid to feed a government bureaucracy that mirrors the worst excesses and inefficiencies of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the agency that controls most of the aid.

The sad result is a huge, U.S.-funded Micronesian public sector that crowds out economic development. This has ensured the perpetual dependency of the people, like the Yap islanders, on the state and federal government of the Federated States of Micronesia.

So oppressive is the bureaucracy that the World Bank estimates it takes a year and a half's worth of personal income—spent, for instance, on licensing and attorney fees—to open a small business in Micronesia. In 2013, the bank ranked Micronesia second-worst in the world (behind East Timor) in policies for land registration. The difficulty of recording and holding assets that will be protected under law makes credit virtually unobtainable. The public sector is effectively the sole source of jobs, services, benefits and entitlements—unless Micronesians migrate to Hawaii or Guam (where they are eligible for entitlements on par with native-born U.S. citizens) or enlist in the U.S. military (a career option opened by the "free association" status between the U.S. and Micronesian state governments).


There is no more telling indictment of U.S. policy than the Chinese resort complex planned for Yap. Certain key decision makers publicly justified the deal under the banner of free-market development. Advocates of the plan insist that it is a once-in-a-century opportunity to replace aid dependency with economic development. In short, they are trading in U.S. government handouts—which are scheduled to end in 2023—for the wide-open promise of Chinese-style capitalism.

The U.S. could have spent the past seven decades working with Micronesians to develop modern property rights and an adherence to the rule of law. Washington could have given them the tools to envision and pursue the political and economic future of their own design. Instead the U.S. has devoted itself to keeping the lights on in countless cinder-block government buildings and handing out cheap perishables such as rice and Spam.

The Chinese plan for Yap is not universally popular on the island, where locals still use stone money and dugout canoes. That is particularly true among villagers outside the town center of Colonia, citizens of the more remote municipalities, and peoples from the nearby Outer Islands. Still, the project offers something other than the stagnation and nurtured self-pity of the status quo.

Mr. Mellen was a Peace Corps volunteer in Yap State from 2002-05. He is the president of "Habele," a U.S.-based nonprofit serving kindergarten through 12th-grade-age students across Micronesia.

Copyright 2012 Dow Jones & Company. Read a published response here.


Share