habelefund Literacy

Targeted college book donations highlight US-Palau bonds

A group of off-duty US Army soldiers in Hawaii have teamed up with professors and students at two American universities to provide targeted donations of textbooks for Dr. Kris Kitalong’s students at Palau Community College in the Republic of Palau. Dr. Kitalong is a native of Palau, having taught at the College for many years. He also serves as Vice President at Palau Community College’s Cooperative Research Extension.

Professors and students at Brigham Young University Hawaii and Northern Arizona University were eager to help. Dr. Naomi Lee, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Northern Arizona University recruited students and research assistants to locate and pack texts that Dr. Kitalong and his students needed. Kikiana Hurwitz, University Laboratory Manager and instructor in Biochemistry and Biology at BYU Hawaii, also organized volunteers among her students to find and box books.

Coordination for the donation came from Lt Colonel John Yoshimori and several of his peers in the US Army. Their unit, Task Force Oceania, was established to provide continuous support in the Pacific Island countries located in Oceania, assist U.S. embassies as needed, and reinforce lasting and meaningful relationships in the region. The soldiers volunteered their time after work hours to help pull the book donation together.


A US-based nonprofit, established by former Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Palau and neighboring Micronesia, pitched in to coverer the costs of postage with funds donated by former Peace Corps volunteers and other individual Americans.

“Knowledge is power!  We must provide the next generation opportunities to improve ones self, to improve today for a better tomorrow,” explained John Yoshimori of Aiea. “It is my kuliana “responsibility” to ensure that the world I was born in is a better place for not just my children, but the children of the world.  We all have to malama pono “take care” of each other if we are to achieve this vision.”

Over the last six months more than a hundred boxes of books, totaling over three thousand pounds, have been gathered by John and other Habele volunteers for public schools across Palau and Micronesia.


“This is a great, collaborative project,” explained Neil Mellen, founder of the US nonprofit Habele. Educators in Palau, University professors, staff and students in Arizona and Hawaii, and individual volunteers throughout working to pair resources with specific locally stated needs. It is exciting to see how the long standing and historic partnership between the US and Palau works on such a personal, individual level.”

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habelefund Weaving

Micronesian Looms: Weaving Connections in the US (4)

This is the fourth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.

Further Engagement of On-Island Weavers and Craftsmen

Publication of photos of initial designs and prototypes on social media spurred a further wave of input from women weavers and male craftsmen in the US, Yap, and beyond. These parties provided photos of their own looms, boards, and weaving tools as well as detailed feedback and suggestions on the evolving prototypes. Themes of the feedback included the strong preference for warping boards that could fold for storage, and to a lesser degree, loom frames that could be dis- and reassembled, as well as boards that could be laid out for multiple of the warping peg patterns commonly used throughout Yap State.

We also noted trends in feedback that stressed the importance of loom frames that could be easily secured to walls, as well as strong (but varied) feedback on tabletop versus floor use that guided the design of the warping boards.

At this point, as photos were being posted on social media, Habele began to directly receive requests for warping boards, looms, and weaving tools. Habele strongly communicated that the project was intended to serve Remathau islanders (Outer Island Yapese) living within the mainland US, and that the project was designed to provide a do-it-yourself guide for individuals to make their own items.

Still, many requests were received from women living on Guam and Hawaii, and many requests were made by women (on the mainland and otherwise) who indicated that they would have a difficult time finding a male relative who could build the items, even once provided the detailed instructions. Specifically, we received requests from single women or women living in groups with children but without adult Remathau male household members.

Development of Designs

Final designs were determined. These balanced the initial goals of a simple DIY guide, with flexibility to add or adapt improvements for storage and transportation, and integrating advancements and variations shared with, or developed by, the team.

This is the fourth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.