Since 2006, Habele has partnered directly with families, schools, and local stakeholders to ensure that bright, hardworking students have access to the best education possible. These tuition scholarships are funded entirely by individuals with a deep commitment to children in underserved Micronesian communities.
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 2018-19 enrollment. They will be attending top-ranked, independent K-12 schools on the islands of Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei. Most will live with relatives or sponsors for the length of the school year.
The far-flung islands of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are renowned for their natural beauty, as well as their strategic location in the crossroads of the Pacific. Extreme isolation and limited natural resources remain a struggle for the nation, despite decades of direct financial aid from the United States government. These huge sums have failed to translate into broad educational access or measurable education success for most Micronesian students. In this void, Habele continues to demonstrate the real impact that comes through targeted investment with local buy-in.
“Habele invests directly in students,” says Matt Coleman, Executive Director of Habele. “We take a lot of pride in watching them thrive academically, then graduate equipped to pursue higher education and give back to their communities.”
In addition to the funding tuition scholarships, Habele provisions public school libraries across the FSM, supports traditional skills instructional programs, and facilitates the only high-school robotics league in the Central Pacific.
Established by former Peace Corps volunteers, Habele is a US-based nonprofit, advancing educational access and accomplishment in Micronesian communities.
