CMI students delivered a thoughtful and energizing presentation to the opening of the Pacific Islands Health Officers Association meeting at Marshall Islands Resort Monday morning. Photo: Giff Johnson.
GIFF JOHNSON
The Pacific Islands Health Officers Association is holding its 77th executive board meeting in Majuro this week. The organization represents all of the US-affiliated islands in the region.
The opening Monday was in a well decorated Melele Room at Marshall Islands Resort, with island leis and the iokwe spirit on full display for the visitors.
There were a couple of speeches from RMI and regional representatives.
But the most memorable presentation was offered by College of the Marshall Islands students who used roros (chants) and an enra (food basket woven from coconut fronds) to communicate big ideas on health and youth engagement.
While showing off the woven enra, the students said: “What we put into this plate…is what we’ll receive. If we fill our plates with candy, we fill our community with diabetes. If we fill it with expired medicine and outdated systems, we serve distrust. But, if we fill it with breadfruit, local knowledge, youth energy and cultural wisdom…We serve resilience.”
A message the seven students hammered home through the presentation was about the opportunities young people bring to any community or activity, but which is often ignored by older people.
“What we put on the plate…is the same as what we don’t put on the plate,” the students said. “Every absence speaks…When we leave out trust, we invite suspicion. When we forget youth, we lose momentum. When we exclude culture, we weaken our roots. The plate doesn’t just reflect what is offered, it reveals what’s missing.”
The students, speaking to health leaders from RMI and the region, continued: “Youth are already serving in hospitals, in climate education, in caregiving. But we need recognition, we need compensation, and we need clearer pathways. We’re not asking to replace elders, we’re asking to learn from them, and to serve alongside them.
There is a Marshallese saying, ‘Enra im lale Rara.’ The woven plate that cares for us all.”
Their presentation tied the islands together: “We may come from different islands and nations throughout the Pacific, but we share one thing in common: The Pacific Ocean. It is our connector, our lifeblood, and our shared responsibility. Just like the enra, our health systems must be woven together, with every voice included.”
They concluded: “Let us not only serve food. Let us serve justice. Let us serve dignity. Let us serve hope. Because what we weave…is what we will receive.”
The CMI team involved: Student Government Association President Willy J. Lebeau, Vice President Thurston B. Loeak, Residence Life representative Isabel Samuel, Nursing program representative Liome Kibin, Education program representative Tuua Riklon, Student Ambassador Erickson Kiosa, and Fitness Coordinator Jr Bremen Leban.
