School Supplies for Kuttu, Chuck in Micronesia

Habele donors are again sending basic supplies to under-resourced public schools in the Central Pacific.

This box of materials is headed for the Island of Kuttu, of the Mortlock group, in Chuuk State Micronesia.

Basic materials are essential to effective classroom instruction but many schools in the lagoon and outer islands lack them. The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is an all-volunteer group that gathers such supplies and sends them to educators in Micronesia.

Last year Habele made similar donations to schools and libraries in Ulithi, Eauripik, Wooleai, and Moch. The all-volunteer Fund also provides student scholarships to Outer Island children attending private and independent schools in the region. Habele is currently sponsoring Jodie Sam of Kuttu, who is attending the prestigious Berea High School in Weno.

Learn more at www.habele.org.

Outer Island Micronesian students hard at work

Shania and her cousin Glimmer horse around beside the Yapese Cargo Ship Hapilmogol. Both are attending Yap SDA School with scholarships from Habele.

Shania Marpa, a bright eyed and friendly fourth grader, is a committed student.

"I know school is the key to my future," she says.

Shania is an Outer Island Micronesian, living on the Pacific Island of Yap with her grandparents Gregoria and Moses Marpa. While Micronesia is a remote and impoverished country, with few of the amenities most Americans take for granted, education is a priority.

Still, the public schools on Yap, and particularly in the Outer Islands that surround it, struggle with limited resources, high student-to-teacher-ratios, and a limited pool of qualified teachers.

A growing number of independent and private schools have been established in recent years, often with foreign national teachers in the form of Peace Corps and missionary volunteers. This has importantly expanded options for students and raised community expectations about student accomplishment. Existence of these schools has also allowed for the limited resources in the public system to be more effectively focused on a smaller student population.

The modest tuition charged by these schools, often less than a thousand US dollars per year, limits the ability of some students to attend. This is particularly true in the case of families from the Outer Islands, where the western-style cash economy is far less developed.

A group of Americans is working to help. Through "Habele," a non-profit scholarship granting organization, they are expanding access to quality private education. In the last four years they have issued over $10,000.oo in tuition assistance to students including Shania and her cousin Glimmer. They've also provided hundreds of dollars in school supplies to support the public schools.

"We know that success in grades K through 12 will be the key to getting into and succeeding in higher education," explains Moses, "Habele is helping is toward that important goal."


The scholarships are working. Shania's grades (see photo) are excellent and she is on-track to build on her success in the classroom. Moses and Gregoria are very proud. So is Shania.

To learn more, and to make a tax deductible contribution to Habele, visit www.habele.org.

Habele charity donates materials to school on Fais Island

Eager attitudes, engaged parents and committed qualified teachers are all essential for learning.

Public school students on the remote Island of Fais have all these, but they often lack basic materials that students in more developed countries take for granted.

Habele, an all-volunteer charity that serves Micronesian students, is working to help. This week Habele mailed a box packed full of pens, pencils, markers and other basic classroom materials to teachers on Fais.


"Habele is committed to supporting under-resourced and isolated classrooms," explained Regina Raglmar Raigeta, a member of Habele's Board of Directors. "It is part of our larger effort to expand educational access and promote academic accomplishment in the Outer Islands of Micronesia that span from Yap in the west to Chuuk Lagoon in the east."

Last year Habele made similar donations to schools and libraries in Ulithi, Eauripik, Wooleai, and Moch. The all-volunteer Fund also provides student scholarships to Outer Island children attending private and independent schools in the region. Learn more at www.habele.org.

Applications for Habele Scholarships Arrive

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is already receiving applications for its 2009-10 tuition scholarships. Here is a letter that recently arrived:

February 6, 2009

Dear Sir,

Enclosed here in is my grand daughter's application for the Habele scholarship Fund. My grand-daughter Marciana Lagielig is currently enrolling in the first grade at St. Mary School here in Colonia Yap. Her total tuition cost for one school year is $225 and a monthly payment of $25 a month is a must for everyone. If a student is late in paying the monthly tuition, he/she stops from coming to school until such payment is made. This, I find it difficult to do and so that's why I'm applying for assistance through the Habele Outer Islands Education Fund.

St. Mary School is a private Catholic institution operated by the Jesuit Missionaries in conjunction with the local communities and their board of Director. The school is from grade 1 to 8 and is one of the best school in the state as compare with the public elementary schools and other private schools in the state of yap.

Along with the application itself, I'm also enclosing some other supporting documents such as a recent Report Card for Marciana, messages from both the school principal and the first grade teachers. I hope they can be of any help to you in your deliberation on the matter and in making a favorable decision.

Should there be any further clarification and or questions, please feel free to write or call me at telephone 350- 2151. Thank you for your time and efforts and I will certainly look forward to your reply.

Signed, Martin Yangirelman

You can help Marciana Lagielig attend school on Yap by making a donation to Habele here.

Habele featured on Nonprofit Awareness

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund has been featured on Nonprofit Awareness, a blog that highlights outstanding charities and provides hints on best practices in philanthropy.

"Our objective is to help individuals find causes they are passionate about supporting," said Nonprofit Awareness founder and CEO Courtney Brickman, "Toward this end we provide profiles of nonprofit organizations, spotlights on philanthropist, and interviews with nonprofit leaders."

To learn more about Habele, and its educational development work in the remote Outer Islands of Micronesia, visit the article at Nonprofit Awareness or go to www.habele.org.

You can also read more about Habele's library donations and scholarships in Yap and Chuuk States on this blog.