Sustainable Community Support for Palau’s Remote Islands
In June of this year, Peace Winds’ Kensing II ship transported more than 10 tons of construction materials, food, and everyday essential items to residents of Palau’s remote Southwest Islands.
More than half of Palau’s 18,000 citizens live on the main island, Koror, but many of the country’s remaining 339 islands are home to people living without easy access to basics like healthcare or fresh, healthy foods. The farthest of these islands is approximately 370 miles from Koror, and according to the local staff, most Palauans have never been there. The journey takes about one day by boat.
The Peace Winds team has traveled to the Southwest Islands many times before to provide essential health services to residents there. (Click here to read more about it.) But this trip was the first to be funded by a local government in Palau. This is a groundbreaking step in building a sustainable support system for the people here.
The goal of most humanitarian programs is for the local community to ultimately take over running them. This strengthens self-reliance and ensures communities’ access to services in the long-term. However, this would not be possible for the Kensing program without substantial support from the Palauan government. It is extremely rare for a local government to allocate funds to programs of a non-governmental organization, so this allocation of operating costs for the Kensing II was a major step in the right direction.
Peace Winds was first asked to transport construction materials to support the infrastructure of Hatohobei state about two years ago. But until now, there was no ship capable of doing so. The Kensing II has turned out to be perfect for the job. Formerly used by a maritime college in Japan, it is approximately 130 feet (40 meters) long. This is a rarely large size for a ship in Palau, with the exception of patrol boats and diving vessels, which are not suitable for transporting large cargo. The Kensing II is also equipped with a large crane, another rare feature.
Not only did Peace Winds deliver construction materials, food, and livestock to Hatohobei, but staff were also able to bring garbage, recyclables, and a small boat in need of repair back to Koror. Starting with this voyage, the Peace Winds team hopes to make regular trips to support two of the Southwest Islands. The Kensing II is also available for other organizations to use when it’s not being used by the government, and Peace Winds has already received requests from environmental research groups and other nonprofit organizations. Peace Winds also hopes to use the Kensing II to carry out rapid disaster relief in the Asia Pacific.
We will continue working to support Palau amid shortages of personnel and supplies and to support the operations of the Kensing II. However, we continue to face funding challenges, and it will be difficult for Peace Winds to operate the ship on our own. Your donations will help us meet basic needs for Palau’s rural communities. Click here to support our work in Palau.