Fanapi, [fan-ah-pee], literally translated ”sandy islands” is the Chuukese name for all the low-lying sandy outer islands located in the Northwest region of Chuuk State comprising of Pattiw atolls, Pafeng atolls, and Namonweito atolls. It also includes the Mortlocks region. In both Chuuk and Yap, the outer islanders are commonly known as Rematau [re-ma-tau], literally translated as “people of the ocean” the most renowned one is the late Mau Piailug, master navigator who accompanied the Native Hawaiian people in their own quest to rediscover the art of traditional wayfinding. For more on Papa Mau, see the film, “The Navigators Pathfinders of the Pacific”
Our Founders
Group photo of Northwest delegation, 2012. Click on photo for more photos.
The Fanapi Foundation was founded by the local leaders of the Northwest region of Chuuk State (see photos). On July 2-7, 2012, over 60 leaders (teachers, principals, mayors, municipal council presidents, religious leaders, traditional chiefs, political leaders, and representatives of concerned parents) from throughout the Northwest regions of Pattiw, Namonweito, and Pafeng converged at Northwest High School (formerly Weipat Junior High School) on Onoun island to participate in the first Northwest Education Leadership Institute sponsored by the Chuuk State Department of Education (CDOE). The goal of that historic gathering was to explore ways to improve the quality of education for students of the Northwest region and to build community support for the Chuuk Educational Reform Plan (CERP).
What transpired at this historic meeting was beyond the usual expectations for the outer islanders; the participants elected to support and expand on the challenge to engage in educational reform by adopting to formulate key steps in building community-based support and ownership of “our own schools” and solving “our own needs.” The delegates unanimously formulated the Northwest Resolution expressing their dissatisfaction with the State’s lack of educational improvement, the need to unify all the public schools into the Northwest Unified Schools (NUS), and the creation of a non-governmental organization to access local and global resources. Their resolution also called for the creation of a Fanapi Center to be located on the main island of Weno to support educational reform, facilitate community development, coordinate healthcare programs, and develop economic opportunities for the Northwest region.
The keynote speaker at this educational / leadership summit was Mr. Vidalino Raatior, a fellow outer islander, product of Chuuk State’s public education, international educator, consultant for the Department of Education, and Director of the Pacific Islander Student Center at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. In a recognition of one of their own son of the Northwest, the delegation asked him to serve as the pro-bono consultant for the region to help implement their action plans in partnership with the Chuuk Department of Education and other entities.
