Students Across Micronesia Awarded Habele K12 Scholarships

Students working at Yap Catholic High School. YCHS is one of eight schools across Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei where Habele supports students through it's tuition scholarship program.

US-based charity Habele has announced issuance of its annual tuition K12  scholarships to students across the Federated States of Micronesia  (FSM) this week. The scholarships are awarded to low-income and  high-performing students to attend the K-12 school of their family’s  choosing.

The scholarships cover seventy-five percent of a student’s tuition at  one of eight participating schools in three of the FSM’s four states.  The students primarily come from rural communities and remote outer  islands. Habele’s scholarships allow them to attend the highest quality  private schools in the country, which tend to be located on the larger  islands that serve as state capitals.

“Habele is very proud to announce our 2013 scholarship recipients,” said  Neil Mellen, a Habele Director. “Thanks to our generous donors, we’re  going to help over forty students this year - nearly twice the number  that we supported last year.”

The increase in scholarship allocations was made possible by a  combination of individual and institutional donations from across the  United States and Europe. Special support came from Ray and Barbara  Dalio of Greenwich, Connecticut as well as from the Hamburg-based  corporation “Yapital.”

“We’re very grateful to our donors,” continued Mellen. “People have been  more generous than ever. We’ve had contributions from American civil  servants, scuba diving tourists in the islands, and former Peace Corps  volunteers. In particular, we’ve received just tremendous levels of  support from Barbara and Ray Dalio, who visited Pohnpei and Yap last  year, and from Yapital, a German financial services corporation that  just launched this summer.”

Habele, which was founded by a group of former Peace Corps Volunteers,  has been awarding scholarships to primary and secondary school students  in Micronesia since 2006. Each student is required to provide Habele  with copies of his or her report card, a thank you letter, and a  photograph during the course of the school year. New applicants also  submit details of their family’s financial situation, and those applying  to renew their scholarships must re-submit their application forms each  year.

Parents and students on Yap attended a Habele workshop in order to learn about the scholarship program and to receive support in completing their applications.“We’re investing in these students,” said Mellen. “That’s our mission:  to take a promising young man or woman, one who may not have access to  quality education due to life circumstances, and give him or her the  best schooling we possibly can. These are the young people who will grow  up to lead Micronesia.”

“A scholarship is not a handout,” agreed fellow Director Alex Sidles.  “Not only are the families of our scholars contributing their share to  the tuition costs, but we see our scholarships as an investment in the  future of the FSM. It’s good for the students, and it’s good for the  country.”

Tuition checks will be mailed out to the schools in the coming days, and  parents of successful scholarship applicants will be notified by mail  at the same time.

Those interested in applying for a scholarship or supporting Habele’s work in Micronesia can learn more online at www.habele.org.