Country Info
The Marshall Islands are located in eastern Micronesia, about 2,000 miles from Hawaii, New Zealand, and the Philippines. They are just west of the international dateline and a few degrees north of the equator. The country consists of 29 low-lying coral atolls and five individual islands, with a total landmass of only 74 square miles. The atolls are rings of tiny islands enclosing blue-green lagoons. These coral atolls are bounded on the ocean side by coral reef barriers. The islands themselves are typically a block or two wide and only a fraction of a mile long, but some islands may be so small that they only have a few coconut trees! Each atoll has 60-100 islands, but only a few of the islands on each atoll are inhabited. The total population of the Marshall Islands is about 55,000.
The Marshall Islands have been an independent nation since 1979, and have a seat in the United Nations. Since 1986, the Marshall Islands have also had a "Compact of Free Association" with the US, which gives each country certain privileges with the other. The capital, Majuro, hosts the embassies of Japan, Taiwan, and the US.
There are two major divisions in the Marshall Islands: the "urban centers" and the "outer islands." The two urban centers are Majuro, where about half of the country's population live, and Ebeye (pop. 13,000), a bedroom community for the Kwajalein missile base. The other atolls, and even the other islands in these two atolls, are collectively referred to as the "outer islands." WorldTeach volunteers live and teach in both Majuro, Ebeye-Gugueegue, and on the "outer islands."
The political center of the Marshall Islands is Majuro, and the government is a major presence on the island. There are also two colleges, an international airport, an 80-bed hospital, grocery stores, a bowling alley and a movie theatre on Majuro. There is electricity and running water over the entire island (only recently accomplished), and even cable TV in some locations.
The outer islands are quite different. They don't have electricity, although often the schools and maybe a few people on a given island will have a generator. The use of solar panels has been introduced to many outer islands, offering a few hours of electricity for movie watching, lighting, and even washing machines in a some areas. Cooking is done over open fires, in pits, and sometimes in oven-boxes heated by smoldering coconut husks. People catch their own water off rooftops or have wells. Marshallese purchase canned foods, pick breadfruit and coconuts, and go fishing for fresh seafood. What cash there is on the outer islands is earned through the production of copra (from drying coconuts), the making of handicrafts, or government jobs, or is sent from relatives living in Majuro, Ebeye, or the United States.
Unique Challenges for volunteers in the Marshall Islands
Urban Centers: Managing expectations is a huge challenge for volunteers in the urban centers. It can be easy to forget that a city in the Marshalls is not the same as a city in their home countries. Volunteers often focus on the trash, the randomness of businesses being open, or the way nothing ever seems to work the way it should. Remember that the Marshall Islands are developing and may prioritize their problems differently.
Outer Islands: An outer island placement may be one of the most difficult placements WorldTeach offers. Volunteers literally live on a wisp of sand in the middle of the ocean. Life is very confined; it is difficult to escape the island. There are no stores, no comforts. Even food can be scarce sometimes. Yet life is pure and beautiful. Aside from being very difficult, an outer island is also among the most rewarding.