Alarming Rates of TB

Leaders from the Pacific are meeting to renew their efforts against Tuberculosis in Oceania. Sadly it seems there is much work to be done.

… Dr Rodgers highlighted a disturbing trend in TB rates among central Pacific Island countries with a 33% rise in all types of TB between 2000 and 2005. The largest percentage increases in annual rates were observed in Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati and Solomon Islands. The rate for all types of TB among women has gone up by 32% in the last 6 years, mostly in women of reproductive age. Women made up almost half of all infectious TB cases reported between 2000 and 2005; 30% of them were in the 15–24 age group.

More info here.

Supporters of Habele, and its drive to promote academic accomplishment among the impoverished Outer Islanders of Micronesia, should note that researchers continue to identify correlations between educational attainment and decreased levels of infection.

The belief that tuberculosis is incurable engenders a sense of fatalism, which deters discussion and treatment-seeking. A low educational attainment is associated with delayed treatment seeking for tuberculosis and failure to complete treatment. Conversely, maternal literacy is associated with better rates of case notification of tuberculosis and early treatment-seeking.

Property and Language in the Outer Islands

Ownership of family lands is of prime concern to Outer Islanders, and works through a complicated matrilineal system, but this understanding of property differs from Western ideas about private property in several important ways. Land usually belongs to a family (extended or nuclear) rather than an individual and is not regulated by a formal code, but rather consensus. This view of ownership is even less rigid when it comes to things other than land. Property, like so much of Outer Island life and society, is centered on the family rather than the individual.

This extended family is most significantly defined through the mother’s lineage, and it is through the woman’s line of descent that most property and title inheritance occur. This is not strict a matriarchy (in which the eldest mother in the group holds control of the family or community) because men fill the role of village and island chiefs. There are however important roles for women on the Outer Islands, both in positions through the formal women’s organizations, as well as their place of authority in a society that places high esteem on the elderly.

An interesting example of communal ownership is found in the use of adjectives. In the Ulithian language there are three classes of words that serve to qualifying a noun through the definition of a relationship. They are almost as common as the English “the” but also denote ownership (mine, hers, etc...). Understanding this helps to appreciate the Outer Island conceptualization of ownership, and how it has begun to change in recent times

The stem ya- is used for common items; yai botoaw my basket, yamw kahool your box. The stem la- or lu- is usually reserved for living things; lai yaelweech my kid, lomw pabiiy your pig. Wa- which means canoe when it is said alone, is the stem for vehicles; waal his canoe, wamw barko your ship. With the arrival of expensive Western goods, radios and televisions for example, the la- stem has come to cover more and more inanimate objects. These include radios and now televisions. Most objects retain their common ownership in speech. Generally Outer Islanders still make use of the first person plural, asking where is our basket, or our knife, even when speakers and listeners are not related.

Steady Progress

Habele is proud to report that, as of mid July, we have reached one third of our summer fundraising goal! We are seeking the funds to award two girls scholarships to the prestigious Bethania Boarding School, located in the Republic of Palau. This will require a total of US$2,810, which is a HUGE sum by Micronesian standards, but something we are working to reach through a multitude of $20 to $200 individual donations.

More details about the scholarships here, and more background on the outer islands here. Easy to use Paypal and Amazon donation links on the right-hand side bar. Thanks, and keep getting the word out!

What is an "Outer Island?"

Micronesia is home to many small islands, and the outer islands are the smallest.


As a contemporary political grouping, the Outer Islands of Yap includes the Atolls of Ulithi, Wooliae, Ifaluk, Lamotrek, Eauripik, Faechlap, Ngulu, and Sorol, as well as the stand-alone islands of Fais and Satawall. These are the islands that are within Yap State, but lay “outside” of Yap Proper, or Waab as it was traditionally known. The “Neighboring Islands” is the more politically sensitive, though less commonly used, term. Sorol is presently uninhabited and Ngulu is home to a mixed Yapese-Outer Island people.

The term “Outer Island” has historically covered a broader group, including some of the southerly, or outer islands, of Palau, as well as islands to the west of Truk (Chuuk), which are now part of Chuuk State. These atolls are all “low” islands, without the hills or small volcanic mountains that can be found in the larger islands that presently serve as state capitals, such as Yap Proper, the Islands within Chuuk Lagoon, or Babeldaob in the Republic of Palau. In addition to their low elevation, these outer islands contain very little landmass, and have very rocky soil. The linguistic and cultural continuity extends from east to west, but does not reach north to the Marianas, nor does it includes Yap Proper itself.

In modern times there is a frustration among some Outer Islanders that foreign-sponsored economic and technological development efforts are (for reasons of scale) focused on the State and District Capitals (Yap Proper and Chuuk Lagoon for example). Many Outer Islanders feel they must “move in” in order to advance themselves in these new systems, but the complicated caste and social system on Yap Proper can make this difficult. Others simply dont want to leave their home and families.

Habele believes that advances can occur simultaenously in the main centers and their sourrounding islands. We work to develop capacity in the community schools serving outer islands, while also sponsoring some Outer Island students to attend boarding schools in more developed areas. For more information please read about our projects on the Habele.org website.

501(c)3 Application Mailed

Today Habele mailed its IRS form 1023 Tax Exemption Application Packet. Once we receive our formal recognition, the 501(c)3 exemption status will be backdated to our incorporation date (May 11, 2006), and will cover all donations from that point.

We also mailed the first box of donated t-shirts to the elementary schools on the Ulithian islands of Falalop, Federai, and Asor. Photos will follow once the shirts arrive! We continue to make steady progress towards our summer fundraising goals. Please keep getting the word out!

Tuba (Falubwa)

In the Outer Island of Yap the sap of coconut trees is tapped, and once fermented, it is called “tuba”, or “falubwa. The stems of sprouting pods are shaved and the juice collected twice daily. The hollowed out shell where the tuba is collected is never cleaned out, so there remains a thick paste at the bottom which fuels fermentation. Most men cut, or have trees of their own that other men (or their sons) cut for them. The alcohol content of most tuba is close to wine.

Some hachimem, or unfermented sweet tuba, is collected for women and children to drink. If tuba is left for several days it turns in to vinegar (mulgil) which can also be used for cooking. Another variety, luuch is much sweeter, and is produced when sweet tuba is boiled down into a sugary syrup.

Each island produces tuba with a subtly distinctive taste and potency. The variance is due to differences in water table level, moisture in the soil, and tree exposure to wind, and these factors also mean that tuba from the same tree can change in taste with the weather. Some Western accounts speak of Tuba as “Coconut Toddy.”