Marshallese students, parents, teachers and service providers in Honolulu are invited to attend the 6th annual Marshallese Education Day this Saturday, May 11, at the New Hope Leeward Church in Waipahu. The yearly event, which began in 2008, recognizes Marshallese honor students, encourages parents to become more involved in education, and challenges students to aim for college.

Marshall Islanders Abacca Anjain-Maddison and Tina Stege showcased the community-based work of the Rita Reimaanlok committee at the Milstein Science Symposium in New York City.  Held at the American Museum of Natural History April 9 - 11, the conference brought together local resource managers, scientists, policy makers and other leading conservation practitioners to present and analyze real-world case studies of social and ecological resilience on islands.  

A major collaborative effort has resulted in twelve new Marshallese-English children’s books. These twelve books, created through The Unbound Bookmaker Project, were written and illustrated by 211 students of the Marshall Islands. Each of the children involved in the project are receiving a copy of the book they worked on. The books have also been made available to the general public at only the cost to print and distribute them.

Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands announced Tuesday the screening date for its latest film at the 29th annual ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles.

The Sound of Crickets at Night (Ainikien Jidjid ilo Boñ), the fourth Marshallese feature film directed and produced by the Majuro team of Jack Niedenthal and Suzanne Chutaro, will be showcased on Wednesday, May 8, 7 p.m., at the CVG theaters in L.A. (Koreatown).

Melisa Laelan, a Marshall Islander residing in Springdale, Arkansas, will be the first person in the country to be sworn in as a certified Marshallese interpreter. Northwest Arkansas has the largest concentration of Marshall Islanders in the continental United States. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Hannah will administer the oath to Laelan and two other newly-certififed state court interpreters Thursday, February 28, at 9:45 a.m.

According to the Supreme Court release, family and guests will join the interpreters and the full court for the swearing-in ceremony following oral arguments. The ceremony will be streamed live on the Court's website.

A new report released today analyzes the demographics and economic impact of immigrants in Arkansas, including the Marshallese population. The State has had significant population growth over the past ten years.

The three-volume report, A Profile of Immigrants in Arkansas 2013, will be released on Tuesday, January 8 at 10:00 a.m. CST at  press conferences at WRF in Little Rock,  the Jones Center in Northwest Arkansas, and via live stream on the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation website. 

REPORT PAGE: A Profile of Immigrants in Arkansas

Marshall Islands basketball coaches and players are benefiting from the visit by the highest-level coach ever to conduct trainings in the RMI. Coach Paul Goriss an Australian national team coach based at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, is in Majuro for a week of clinics with coaches and local high school and community league players — including conducting the first-ever women's coaching clinic in the Marshall Islands.

From the Rep. of the Marshall Islands Basketball Federation:

• Coaching Clinic Launched in Majuro
• First Women’s Coaching Clinic Launched in Majuro
• Men’s Basketball Coaches Receive Certificates
  
• Marshall Islands Women Make Basketball History

Samelda N. Leon, UH Hilo Senior majoring in Administration of Justice & Political Science, was initiated into the Pi Sigma Alpha - Political Science Honor Society last Wednesday.

Leon transferred to UH from the College of the Marshall Islands two years ago. She is a active member of the Marshallese Iakwe Club, composed of Marshall Islands’ students enrolled at UHH.

Geoffrey Bannister, president of Hawai'i Pacific University, welcomed Republic of the Marshall Islands President Christopher Loeak, a 1979 graduate of HPU¹s College of Business Administration, during a visit to the university campus on September 21.

Loeak stopped in Honolulu on his way to New York to speak at the United Nations 67th Annual Assembly's General Debate and take part in the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting.

Marshall Islands men’s and women’s basketball teams are competing in the Micronesian Basketball Open Tournament in Guam from September 23 to 29, 2012.

Most of the players on the women's team are "making their first appearance in a regional tournament." Only three have previous tournament experience.

• NEWS: Rep. of the Marshall Islands Basketball Federation at Sporting Plus

Ainikien Jidjid ilo Boñ (The Sound of Crickets at Night), the fourth Marshallese film from the creators of the Ña Noniep, Yokwe Bartowe and Lañinbwil's Gift, premieres at the Marshall Islands Resort in Majuro on September 7.

It has already gained international acclaim for its depiction of tribulations of a family of nuclear survivors from Bikini Atoll.  "Our new feature-length Marshallese film will be the opening night film for the Moondance International Film Festival in New York City," wrote producer/director Jack Niedenthal in an email announcement yesterday.

Guest speaker for the Sept. 5 Distinguished Global Speaker Series program at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith will be the Consul General for the Republic of the Marshall Islands Consulate General Office in Springdale. The talk by Consul General Carmen Chong Gum, sponsored by the International Relations Office at UAFS, will be held at noon in the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center. Her topic will be "Republic of the Marshall Islands and Marshallese in Northwest Arkansas." The event is free and open to the public.

In efforts to reach out to Marshall Islanders scattered throughout the States, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Ambassador to the U.S. has been visiting Marshallese communities in Northwest Arkansas, Washington, and Oregon over the past two weeks. Next stop is California.

Ambassador Charles Paul, from the RMI's Washington, D.C. Embassy, would like to meet with community members in San Diego and Orange County on Saturday, August 4, according to So Cal community leader Taraur Ria,

Marshallese high schoolers will be using a new textbook this fall.  Etto nan Raan Kein, hot off of Hawaii's Bess Press, traces the history of the Marshall Islands, with "a Marshallese perspective in addition to foreign accounts."

The process of compiling accounts, stories, and documents to write for students was humbling," said author Julianne M. Walsh, Ph.D.,

 While Marshallese number only about 22,000 in the U.S, their population increased three-fold over the past ten years, according to the 2010 Census. Under the Compact of Free Association, Republic of the Marshall Islands citizens are entitled to live, attend school, and work in the United States visa-free as “nonimmigrant residents.” More than 4,000 have settled in the Northwest Arkansas region.   The New York Times, with Melisa Laelan’s help, and Arkansas media have been reporting on the situation there.

• NY TIMES: For Pacific Islanders, Hopes and Troubles in Arkansas
• ARK TIMES: Marshall Islanders make home in Northwest Arkansas
• NY TIMES: Photo Album  -  Arkansas a Draw for Marshall Islanders
• KUAF: Audio Interview - UA Political Scientist Surveys Ozark Islanders
• STEVE HEBERT: Photo/Blog – A slice of the Marshall Islands in Northwest Arkansas
  

 For some migrant Marshall Islanders, who leave less-structured island ways, adjusting to life in a modern society is difficult. They find social expectations, economic challenges, and legal responsibilities which are very different from their atoll, extended family, and community-connected lifestyle. While they perceive island justice as more lenient, when charged in their new locations with drunkenness, domestic abuse, and criminal offenses, they most likely face the strong-end of the law, including jail-time and being deported.

• AFFIDAVIT: Tualatin woman was stabbed to death
•  VIDEO: Neighbor said she ran out to help victim after stabbing
• WAIMEA: Barry Bokmej Died Yesterday While Working On A Roof
• CASE:  Judge Declares a Mistrial in Springdale Rape Case
  
• FINE: Fiji Fines Marshall Islands' National $600
• LOCKED-UP: Seven men arrested for walking on interstate, improper hitchhiking
• RELEASED: Homeward bound

The Elefa Handicraft booth at the Trade Pasifika 2012 is amongst those that showcase women entrepreneurs and has attracted many visitors on the first day of this regional trade exposition.

Exquisite handicraft – finely woven bags, handmade earrings, necklaces and belts showing shiny shells  displayed against the backdrop of a mat meets the eye as one approaches the booth. Lucia Guavis who runs the Elena Handicraft Shop in the Marshall Islands is excited to be part of the Trade Pasifika 2012.

Marshall Islands’ Weightlifting Team returned home proudly last week, bringing home three medals for RMI from the Oceania Championship and Continental Olympic qualifier June 4-9 in Apia, Samoa. In the Youth (16 and under) women’s 58kg competition, Mathlynn Jacob-Sasser (15) took gold, besting favorites Australia and Fiji.  Her efforts were strong enough to earn bronze in the Junior (20 and under) competition as well. 

Refrigerators, tires, car parts, washers, cans, and plastics weren’t the only waste collected during the morning hours of World Ocean’s Day this past June 9. After three hours of roaming the beaches of Delap, packs of community members and students were able to collect 419 trash bags total, allowing volunteers to really take ownership of jo jikum, the Marshallese term for one’s place in the world.

View Album - Majuro: 2012 World Ocean Day Clean-up

The Marshall Islands has very few children's books written in Marshallese. Now, with help of an online publishing business, in collaboration with the educational non-profit WorldTeach, the students of this small Pacific nation will see their own stories printed and published.

The Unbound Bookmaker Project, launched in May, plans to distribute the printed books to 900 students in the Marshalls, while also making the books available to the general public for purchase.

Marshallese advocate Jiji Jally, who has stood-up more than once for the people of her Marshall Islands homeland, was lauded Thursday for her tireless efforts to protect State Food Assistance for her own community and for thousands of other immigrant families in Washington.

The Children's Alliance presented Jally with the 2nd annual Brewster Denny Rising Star Advocate Award at its "Voices of Children" luncheon held at Seattle’s Bell Harbor Conference Center.

As the sun rose on May 5th a group of youth took a photo on the reef behind CMI holding cardboard cutout dots with various messages about carbon emissions, CO2, rising sea levels and one particularly large dot which read “Connect the Dots: Majuro Marshall Islands.” Since then the photo has gone viral online, with a number of blogs and websites sharing it in an effort to raise awareness on climate change.

For the fifth year, the Marshall Islander leadership and community in Hawaii will honor academic excellence and parent involvement with its Annual Marshallese Education Day (MED) on May 12, at the McCoy Pavilion, Ala Moana Beach Park. The event, open to the public, provides parent/child training sessions, offers educational resources, and features a free lunch with entertainment.

“Booj Lolatat Non Jelalokjen- Educating Minds for the Future” is the MED theme and goal. Marshallese middle and high school students who have made Honor Roll this past semester in the state of Hawaii's schools' system,, will be awarded for their achievements at the opening MED ceremony.

The Northwest Arkansas Marshallese Community will celebrate the anniversary of the Republic of the Marshall Islands' Constitution over three days, May 25-28. The Steering Committee, comprised of representatives/Pastors from Marshallese churches, groups, Springdale School, and agencies in closed working relationship with RMI Consulate General Office in Arkansas, is proud to host this year's "Jemenei Day." Everyone is invited to participate with free admission. The event flyer (kojjela), listing the planned activities, schedules, and information for visiting teams, follows.

Officials from the Republic of the Marshall Islands met last weekend in Minneapolis with Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, the agency facilitating adoptions from the small, Pacific nation.  Secretary of Internal Affairs Daisy Momotaro accompanied the RMI Central Adoption Authority's Claudia Phillipo, Donna Ishoda and lawyer Gordon Benjamin.

The RMI visitors received an exuberant welcome from area families who had adopted kids from the Marshalls. According to adoptive parents Shawn and Teresa Nilsson, who attended the reception, the group's mission was to see how well the adopted children are doing in the US. "I would say that they were doing well," said Nilsson.

• View Album: RMI Officials Meet Adoptive Parents, Kids