Comprised of the states of Chuuk (formerly Truk), Yap, Pohnpei (formerly Ponape), and Kosrae (formerly Kusaie), the Micronesian islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low coral atolls, with volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk. The nation is spread up over the Pacific ocean from the equator to 14 degrees North latitude and 136 and 166 East longitude. Total area: 271 sq mi (702 sq km). Land area, same (includes islands of Pohnpei, Yap, Chuuk, and Kosrae).

Most states in the FSM are comprised of tiny coral islands scattered hundreds and thousands of miles from the main commercial centers where hospitals, airports, libraries, and other resources are available. Their remote locations make it difficult for the people to access basic health care and quality education. They have have very little contact with the outside world except for the occasional government-run boat that comes twice a year. A select few of the outer islands have a small airfield built by the government to support those groups of islands. The largest number of these outer islands are located in the State of Chuuk.

The Outer Islands Partnership was founded to bridge the needs of these islands to the outside world. >>Read more

Thank you for visiting the Outer Islands Partnership website. If you have previously visited our website, you’ll notice quite a few changes. We have redesigned the website using the open source software called WordPress to maximize our capability to maintain communication with our friends and supporters. You’ll notice that we have a featured section on the homepage to keep you abreast of the latest news from OIP. For those who wish to receive email updates from us, I invite you to sign up.

We have expanded our leadership to include a dedicated and Board of Directors who legally oversee the administration of the organization. We also have the commitment of an inspiring team of private and civic leaders who make up our Advisory Board. While we are a small organization driven solely by volunteers, our goals and aspiration are nothing but small. We want to build this organization into an NGO that focuses on the empowerment of the most vulnerable members of the outer island communities, i.e. the women and children.

Even the name of our organization has gone through some iteration.  What started as simply a project for the outer islands in Chuuk has expanded to the Outer Islands Partnership. Our name reflects how we see our role in empowering the variety of needs in the remote islands throughout Micronesia; namely, we are a partner with the outer islanders in their nation-building activities. Now that we’ve built the foundation, we invite you to help us develop the framework on which we can help support the needs in the islands.

Our hope to bring global resources to the impoverished people in the outer islands can only be realized with the help of people of good will. Obviously, we cannot do this on our own. We need volunteers to help shape the programs, implement our projects, and fund opportunities. We look forward to working with you to build a more just and equitable global community.

Sincerely,

Vid Raatior & Desha Staley-Raatior
Co-Founders, Outer Islands Partnership

Climate Change: Micronesia, Island Nations Threatened by Global Warming – ABC News.