Habele fundraising t-shirts now for sale!

In 2006 a group of former Peace Corps Volunteers established a US-based nonprofit to advance educational opportunity and access across Micronesia.

Since that time Habele has provided book donations, awarded tuition scholarships, supported cultural mentors and created a Micronesia wide high school robotics league.

For a decade and a half, Habele’s unique and distinctive t-shirts have been sent to, and worn by, students, teachers and volunteers throughout Micronesia. They raise awareness and celebrate the work of our partners. They showcase designs, patterns and forms distinctive to the Federated States.

Now select Habele shirts can be purchased online with all proceeds benefiting the work of Habele!

Habele K12 Tuition Scholarships Micronesia, FSM

Invest in Scholarships for Micronesian Students

Friends of Habele,

Once a year, this fundraising letter is sent to a modest list of individual Americans with some personal connection to the Islands of Micronesia. You, the reader, may be a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, formerly of the State Department, family of a serviceman or official who served in the Islands, an academic with regional expertise, or a one-time tourist who fell in love with Micronesia.

Every spring we write asking for support to award K12 tuition scholarships. Promising students who need financial assistance to attend Micronesia’s top-rated schools send us applications. We write checks to the school in the student’s names for a portion of tuition. Their families pay the rest. Over the school year these students provide us report cards, photos and letters.

Each year, the number of scholarships awards depends on the response to this letter and donations made at the end of the calendar year. Deserving requests always exceed Habele’s ability to meet them. Scholarship are entirely funded by individual donations, never grants. That is not for want of grant writing and solicitations. Despite years of attempts, the life-altering scholarships have never received support beyond those sent by private individuals like you.

I am very proud of all of Habele’s work. High school robotics, targeted book donations and cultural mentorships are all highly effective and efficient. But tuition scholarships -the direct investment in the future of a singular young Micronesian working to advance themselves- is what I take greatest pride in.

I hope you feel the same way. Please donate now by check or online at www.habele.org/donate.

Thank you,

-NM

New to Habele? Learn what we do, in 90 seconds, from the students we serve!

Schools Across Micronesia Earn Robotics Certification

Thirty seven teachers and students at high schools across the Federated States of Micronesia have earned certification in robotics operation and instruction.

The Robo Certification Challenge was opened by Habele Outer Island Education Fund in December of 2020, offering participating high schools the opportunity to advance their understanding of robotics, and earn cutting edge equipment for their robotics clubs.

The challenge consisted of completing a free, online certification course of about twenty hours of material, and passing a test on the the information learned. The remote robotics course requires no background in the subject, and covers basic robotics concepts, construction, programming, and instruction of others in the material. The course was made available to all staff and students at high schools participating in the Habele Robo League.

The first four high schools to have both a teacher and student earn certification were awarded a state-of-the-art 3D printer for their robotics club. Laptops were awarded to the first teacher to obtain certification, as well as the first students in grades 9-12 who earned the certificate.

Between December 2020 and the close of the Certification Challenge in March of 2021, six schools across three FSM states had thirty-seven teachers and students certified. The four high schools winning the grand prize of a 3D printer were Yap Catholic High School, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School, Pohnpei Catholic School, and PICS High School. An honorable mention goes to Akoyikoyi School in Chuuk, who – while not a high school – had an eighth grader and teacher both earn certification.

“Schools are taking advantage of creative ways to expand their students knowledge,” says Matt Coleman of Habele. “This challenge meshed remote instruction with new material, and gave students in island classrooms another tool in learning how to train their peers.”

The Certification Challenge is the latest adaptation and evolution of Habele’s FSM-wide high school robotics league. Established in 2011, Habele Robo provides hands-on STEM learning that excites students about real world application of math and science.

“This has been a challenging year for schools in Micronesia, but Habele has been with us every step of the way, says Russell Figueras of OLMCHS. “From donations of campus networking equipment, to online technical instruction, Habele has helped us empower classroom instruction during a time of uncertainty for our school’s operations.”

Habele is a registered nonprofit founded by Peace Corps volunteers serving in Micronesia.

Despite COVID, Robotics Expands Across Micronesia

Despite the chaos of COVID, Micronesia’s high school robotics rolled forward in 2019-20.

This was a school year of expansion and cultivation for the Habele Robo League. Students in Kosrae were equipped and trained. Schools in Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei expanded mastery of robotics, deepening capacity and ownership.

Expansion – Extending Robotics to Kosrae State

Expansion into Kosrae made the Robo League a truly nationwide program, serving students across all four Micronesian States.

Introduction of robotics to Kosrae was met with high enthusiasm by students, educators and government officials, some of whom had tracked the robotics league’s progress in other FSM states, and have been waiting for the opportunity to participate.

2019-20 Habele League Coverage

The Kosrae Robo League presents unique challenges, as the majority of high school students on-island attend one central high school (Kosrae High School). This requires creating multiple, competitive clubs within Kosrae High School. By contrast, in the other three FSM states, inter-school competition is a crucial component of the Robo League, and one that generates high levels of ownership and engagement.

Habele continues to refine the Robo League model to accommodate clubs in a wide variety of situations. Provisioning four or more clubs in a single school required special attention and training, but equipped them for dynamic competition within their own school and other states in the future.

Students in Kosrae, Micronesia opening new robotics kits at a Habele training workshop

Kosrae High School was provided with enough robotics equipment to form up to six clubs from their large student body. Students and staff were also provided extensive hands-on technical training. As the school year progressed the Kosrae clubs made it clear: they were eager to demonstrate mastery of the technology.

Despite a Spring semester disrupted by pandemic concerns, Kosrae High School successfully held their first-ever Kosrae Robo Day. Even in uncertain times, the event generated interest and engagement from staff and students. Going forward, the hope is to build community engagement, as people feel more comfortable gathering in large groups. Staff and student surveys noted that the Kosrae Robo Clubs are eager to remain part of the League, and to deepen students’ understanding of the material.

Robo League teacher and administrator training focuses on capacity building

Intra-Micronesia communication remains a challenge, as Kosrae is the last state to remain unconnected to the undersea fiber optic cable. Internet access is extremely limited especially for staff not immediately in school offices, an issue that grew as teachers and administrators practiced social distancing away from campus. In some cases, communication is limited to traditional mail via the FSMPS / USPS, which creates a lag in updates from Kosrae, compared to Robo Clubs from the three other FSM states. Fostering school-to-school, and state-to-state, communication in other states has been a key part of improving those teams ownership and performance. It is encouraging to see the commitment to STEM instruction from Kosrae educators, despite these challenges.

Cultivation – Taking Incumbent Schools to the Next Level

Following a very successful introductory year in 2018, participants in the Pohnpei Robo League were on a solid trajectory to build on the momentum. In addition to the previous participants, Madolenihmw High School was equipped to begin their own Robo Club. This rural high school had heard about the robotics competition, and was eager to be involved.

Madolenihmw High School joining the Pohnpei Robo League

Habele conducted extensive meetings with participating schools and key staff, assessing interest, engagement, and ownership of the Pohnpei Robo League. Interest remained high, and high engagement clubs provided support and an example for clubs with teachers newer to the subject. Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School (OLMCHS) continued to serve as on-island leader for the Robo League. OLMCHS organized and hosted all multi-school events, communicated with participating clubs, and worked to build community interest in the Robo League.

Needs assessment visits with schools like OLMCHS in the fall provided insights that would become extremely valuable once schools were impacted by COVID-19 protocols. Particularly, the sluggish wireless networks and internet connections that independent schools were attempting to use for remote training and instruction.

Chuuk likewise began the 2019-2020 school year with a lot of momentum. Their 2018 Robo Day was one of the best conducted in the FSM, with significant school and community involvement, and high levels of ownership. With a highly successful Robo Day under their belts, clubs were very motivated to increase competitiveness.

Students in Chuuk were the most clear and knowledgeable source of information about needed equipment, which Habele provisioned. It was clear: Robo progress in Chuuk was fundamentally student-driven.

Additionally, Habele formed a relationship with Akoyikoyi School, a K-8 charter school serving low income students in Chuuk. This school indicated in interest in pre-training for students who intend to pursue robotics when they matriculate to high school.

Robo Club in Yap State finalizing their robot design

Yap State -where the league began in 2011- continued to lead the way for the Robo League. High levels of ownership and student leadership provide an exemplary template for developing clubs in other states. One practical example of this leadership is in game development. As with last year, students in Yap developed their own game for the final Robo Day competition, and offered to it to participants in other states to use. Yapese students and educators service as peer-to-peer trainers has enriched and grown the cooperative nature of the Robo League between states.

The use of peer-to-peer instruction adds complexity to the program, but has proven educationally effective. It also advances the Robo League’s secondary goals of increasing student ownership, and growing a unified sense of Micronesian identity.

All seven high schools across Yap State are enthusiastic participants in the Robo League. Because of internet and phone access, communication with the high schools on Ulithi and Woleai Atolls remains a challenge. Despite this information lag, Habele has still been able to provision schools with necessary equipment and materials to successfully compete.

Adaptation – School-by-School Problem Solving Amidst COVID

As Robo Clubs across the FSM geared up for the home stretch towards 2020 Robo Day, global pandemic sent shockwaves through the education community. Some schools closed and sent students to their home islands. Other schools closed temporarily, and hoped for word from State Departments of Education that they could reopen and finish the semester.

Students lead the way in raising school and community awareness of the Robo League

Expatriate teachers went off island, and were unable to return. Many local teachers and staff were off-island for training and similarly found themselves unable to return. For schools that did re-open to finish the semester, the focus was moving towards graduation with a focus on core subjects.

In three of the FSM states, the traditional large public gathering for statewide Robo Day was not an option. Kosrae was the exception, and held an in-person Robo Day before ending their semester early. Habele worked with partner schools in Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei to develop a means by which students could remotely compete, with or without their school being opened.


Winners of the Kosrae Robo Day, 2020

Using versions of the competition game developed by the Student Leadership Team in Yap, Habele made videos carefully instructing students in how to create their own “socially distanced” game board, and laid out each step of the competition process. From home or school, a student could create their own game board using very simple materials (tape, toilet paper, and a stick), run their robot through a series of challenges, and have someone film them on a cell phone for time. Videos of each challenge had to be uploaded to Facebook, and tagged @habelerobo to be included in the competition.


Socially distant, single student modification of Robo Game developed by students in Yap

These steps were communicated to staff at participating schools directly and through our partner schools. One of the key messages was that no staff resources were needed for students to participate. Students in the Robo Clubs simply needed access to the robotics equipment, and could follow the simple instructions to compete.

Our partner schools and state lead schools worked hard to reinforce the ease of participation, and the opportunity for senior students to have a final Robo Day challenge before graduation, while complying with all safety protocols required by each state. For schools still in session, and where local mandates would allow, students could still have their Robo Day.

Hybrid Robo Day in Pohnpei, 2020

Pohnpei held a hybrid Robo Day competition, with only private schools participating, as leadership at the public schools had either shut down, or were focused on closing out the school year as quickly as possible. The Robo Clubs that did participate submitted videos of the challenges, and even held a socially-distanced award ceremony for the students, who were extremely proud of having participated.

Yap High School’s team for Robo Day 2020

Yap State also participated in the 2020 Robo Day with private and public schools competing through the submission of videos. Habele is grateful to the Yap State Department of Education for its ongoing commitment to the Robo League. Participation was significantly lower than in past years, as travel to the Outer Islands was in flux, and some schools had shut down, or had key staff trapped off island.

Outdoor, socially distant, Robots running the course in Pohnpei

Despite all the enthusiasm in Chuuk leading towards Robo Day, pandemic uncertainty severely limited participation in a remote Robo Day. Xavier High School, our key partner school in Chuuk, shut down, and sent non-Chuukese staff and off-island students home. For on-island students that wanted to participate, and had equipment, Xavier assigned community service projects that would have usually happened after the school year. Public schools, and other private schools shut down, attempting to comply with evolving state mandates. Even as the 2020-21 school year began, many schools in Chuuk remained in a holding pattern, trying to discern how they could comply with state government health and safety mandates.


Robotics kit headed to Akoyikoyi in Weno, Chuuk

A hopeful element for the Chuuk Robo League is the relationship being cultivated with Akoyikoyi School, a K-8 charter school serving low income students. Although a middle school, Akoyikoyi proactively sought for a way to engage students in pre-Robo League STEM training. Engaged staff searching out opportunities for students, despite ongoing uncertainty, can serve as a motivating factor for other schools on-island.

Moving Forward – Targeted Support to Support Robotics and STEM Instruction

To make the best use of its new robotics gear,  a high-capacity wireless network on the Akoyikoyi campus was also provided by Habele. Like many other schools across the FSM, several of Akoyikoyi STEM teachers were off-island when the quarantine began. The improved network makes remote learning and distance instruction a practical reality for those educators and their students.

Network installation to support STEM learning in Chuuk

Wireless networks are a key issue for the Robo League going forward. Schools across the FSM are moving to alternate schedules, that – as they are able – incorporate online learning and remote instruction. Remote robotics instruction will become a factor throughout the upcoming school year, and the majority of schools (particularly private schools) do not have the wireless capacity to engage remotely.

Winning students, Pohnpei Robo Day 2020

Habele laid a foundation for overcoming this challenge by equipping a partner school in Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei with high quality wireless networks. Going forward, each of these schools can function as a central location for staff and students from all participating clubs to gather for remote trainings. Though Kosrae remains unconnected to the undersea cable, Habele is investigating solutions to support remote learning for the Robo Clubs there.

These “connected campuses” allow all indoor and outdoor areas quick access to a robust Wireless Area Network, radically improving the small, wired computer labs, which were further limited in their utility due to social distancing concerns. Integrated servers allow robotics instructional and reference materials to be accessed by all staff and students. With many of the most credentialed STEM teachers unable to return to the FSM, these network projects not only support robotics, but science and math learning of all types.

Habele Awards Scholarships, Celebrates US-Micronesian Partnership

Sheridan Giltamag of Yap, one of twenty-two Habele tuition scholarship recipients.
She will be a freshman at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School in Pohnpei in the fall.

Twenty-two students from across the four states of Micronesia were awarded tuition scholarships this week, making it possible for them to attend faith-based independent elementary and high schools in Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei.

Habele tuition scholarships are funded entirely by the individual donations of American citizens who share a love of Micronesia and the belief that high quality education can unlock the incredible personal potential of some of the world’s most remote students.

Each tuition grant is set at a level that maintains family ownership in student achievement, while lightening the financial burden. Often scholarships cover between fifty and seventy-five percent of school tuition and fees. Students must maintain and report high levels of academic achievement every quarter, applying each year for continued support.

Habele is a US nonprofit established by former Peace Corps Volunteers who lived and taught in Micronesia. It first issued tuition scholarships in 2006. This year 30 individual Americans from 16 different states donated to fund the 2020-21 tuition scholarships.

Donors included former Peace Corps Volunteers, tourists who had visited Micronesia, and the sons and daughters of Americans who served in Micronesia in the US Armed Forces.

Three of the twenty-two scholarships awarded this year were memorial scholarships.

“Memorial scholarships honor the legacy of Americans whose life or work demonstrated exceptional commitment to the people of Micronesia,” explained Habele’s Founder, Neil Mellen “They embodied the best of the longstanding US-Micronesian partnership.”

The Lee Huddleston memorial scholarship, established this year, honors the life of Lee Joseph Huddleston of Eugene, Oregon. Lee lost his life in February of 2020, rescuing a group of children caught in a rip tide while swimming off Moch island, where he was working for the Chuuk State Department of Education. Lee had also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer, teaching in Weno.

The Leona Peterson Memorial Scholarship provides tuition assistance to a young woman in elementary or high school high school attending an independent school in either Yap or Pohnpei. It honors the work of Mrs. Paterson, who led Department of Aging in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands during the late 1970s and early 80s.

The Marshall Paul Wees Memorial Scholarship is named for a US Navy doctor who served the people of Ulithi Atoll during the War in the Pacific. Dr. Wees, working with limited supplies and assisted only by a pharmacist’s aide, stamped out the terrible scourge of yaws, a debilitating disease that was ravaging the Ulithian population.

“At this time of so many challenges across the globe, I hope these modest tuition scholarships will be a subtle reminder of the deeply personal, decades long and historically unique partnership between the Micronesian and American Peoples” explained Mellen.