Fanapi Foundation’s mission is to provide technical assistance that promotes self-reliance among the under-served population from the geographically remote outer islands in Micronesia living abroad and at home.
Our Vision
The Fanapi Foundation envisions a world in which the indigenous people regardless of their remote locations are empowered to sustain themselves and to preserve their cultures in a changing world.
Our Core Values
The Fanapi Foundation is built upon these core values & beliefs:
1. We believe that the Fanapi islanders can rise up to accomplish extraordinary things for themselves and their descendants when given the opportunity, freedom, and resource. Fanapi Foundation will help in building the capacity of the local leaders to become catalyst for local solutions.
2. We believe in the ability of an island community to transform itself by engaging in the best that technology and research can bring without compromising its rich traditions, culture, and values. Fanapi Foundation aspires to bridge the modern world with the responsibility of perpetuating the roots and traditions of the people from the outer islands.
3. We believe in the power of grassroots to affect change in our society through understanding, awareness, and active participation. Fanapi Foundation organizes grassroots advocacy training for the people to self-advocate to elected officials and their government.
4. We believe that education, community development, health care, and social enterprises are the hallmark of empowerment for the marginalized people from the outer islands living at home or abroad. Fanapi Foundation aspires to provide the resources and training by which these services are provided.
5. We believe that Fanapi Foundation must focus on enabling people who have found success abroad in the United States to help their families who continue to live in the outer islands.
Our Strategies
Fanapi Foundation is about alleviating poverty and empowering marginalized outer islanders from Micronesia by building sustainable, community-based, locally focused opportunities aided by global resources.
Empowerment: Self-empowerment is the most sustainable way to self-enrichment. We believe that if given the tools and resources, marginalized people can have the chance to rise out of poverty into self-sufficiency. Outer islanders must want to help themselves. With that approach, it is more about challenging the people to realize their power to succeed than about our giving them any power that they did not already possess.
Engagement: We are humbled by the immensity of needs of people from the geographically remote outer islands in Micronesia living in the United States. But we are resolved to work with the community leaders to find the resources needed to make a long-lasting difference in people’s lives today and the future for our children. Fanapi Foundation seek the partnership with people of goodwill and organizations to provide technical assistance to the island communities, empower women and children towards self-sufficiency, enabling greater access to global resources for economic and social development.
Equity: We are referring to the larger issues of global inequities. Our ancestors lived a peaceful resource-filled lives until we were “discovered” by explorers and colonialists. Today we are caught in the inevitability of change and the need for self-preservation. Outer islanders want to be part of the technological advancement yet they desire to preserve their cultures, values, and traditions. They want their children to succeed in a highly advanced world without losing touch with these island values. Our challenge is to believe that we have as much a voice in the world and not simply a people to be pitied. True equity is the recognition of the uniqueness of every individual and people.
