WorldTeach: Marshall Islands Volunteer Teaching - Year

Although I've completed three years of full-time volunteer service with different organizations (WorldTeach, another foreign program, and a domestic USA program), WT RMI was the only program that I had a difficult time with. The WT organization failed to pass on my application to the RMI program (which was originally listed as my second choice program). I had to re-apply in order to gain acceptance into the program. They also advertise the RMI program as being "fully funded", though in reality most volunteers must spend quite a bit of out-of-pocket money to 1) pay for a flight to the departure site, and 2) supplement their small stipend on-island for basic necessities. There seems to be an assumption that most or all volunteers have people that can send them care packages with needed items; however, many islands are difficult to even get mail or packages to.

The WT RMI program itself was unorganized and offered little support. Teacher training was quick, general (not geared to the situation of the RMI), and overall lacking. Many volunteers were on unsafe outer island conditions (no food and a drought, for instance) and some took months to receive any real help from WT.

What I did appreciate from the program was support from other volunteers. Weekly teacher check-ins gave great peer advice on ways to handle teaching situations.

The crumbling infrastructure of the RMI makes it a difficult place to house a program such as WT. Many times, volunteers are the only person at their school who really seem to take work seriously. Despite volunteers coming year after year, even schools with regular WT volunteers seem to show little, if any, real progress. Many volunteers teach basic phonics skills to all students (K-8). The education system is severely broken, which is obviously not the fault of the WT program. That being said, if WT can't make the program work in a way that's benefiting the schools and providing volunteers with the support they need, this program should be reconsidered.

I loved my students. I loved teaching. I don't regret my time in the RMI. That being said, I would NOT recommend the WT program to others.

I'm a worldteach volunteer currently teaching at Rairok elementary school on Majuro 13-14. I have to say this experience has been one of the best in my life. I have met such incredible people, from my Marshallese host family, community members to other Worldteach volunteers (who come from everywhere in the world). The program is basically divided in two Outer Island and Majuro. Majuro is the capital and has most things youd ever need, while Outer Islands have practically nothing (with the exception of Kwajelin where the U.S military base is located).

You need to be open, mature and flexible as a definite requirement to come here. If you can be this, and relish being independent you can do very well here. The RMI is stunningly beautiful. Some people say that Outer Island life is the best, but I'd argue that Majuro offers a lot of insight and opportunities too. Getting away to Arno to experience outer island life and explore are major highlights for me. This as well as making some life long friends from Texas and Australia.

Apply, you really wont regret it!

I taught on the Arno Atoll in the Marshall Islands, in the town of Lukoj during the 2007-2008 school year. I was the first volunteer in that town, though not on the atoll. Arno is an outer atoll-meaning it has very limited resources and is very primitive. It is a 1-1 1/2 hr boat ride to the capital, Majuro.

My town was about 150 people, 45 of whom were in the K-8 school where I taught. I taught English to the K/1, 2/3, 4/5 and 6/8 classes (no 7th graders the year I was there), science to the 6/8 class for the first half of the year, and then math to the 8th graders for the 2nd half. The town was very appreciative of my efforts and were very supportive in a hands-off way. I was able to do more or less what I wanted with teaching. While there is a curriculum, the students were so far behind where they should be based on it, that I had to teach where they were. My 8th graders had difficulty with the 2nd grade English text books. The English text books we had were based for American students in American schools learning to read. They were not designed for learning English. I mainly created my own materials. We had a lot of construction paper, so I made bulletin boards from that. We did a lot of singing and interactive learning.

My host family was amazing and the highlight of my time there. They treated me like a daughter and when my parents visited, told them that they were my riballe (American) parents, while they themselves were my rimajel (Marshallese) parents. I had my own small hut on the family property. My mama cooked over a fire in the kitchen hut. We ate a lot of white rice with canned meat over it. My town ate a lot of canned tuna, but also canned mackerel, spam, Vienna sausages and other canned meat. Pancakes, homemade donuts, ramen and fish were also very common. I loved when my mama made local Marshallese food, which is delicious. Breadfruit, pandanus, and coconuts were also staples.

A typical weekday:
Wake up with the dawn/roosters
Write in my journal, get ready for the day
About 7:30-eat breakfast (pancakes topped with peanut butter, ramen, donuts, etc)
8:00--walk to school
8:15--school day started with group assembly, song and prayer
8:30--classes started. English, Math and Marshallese were an hour each. Science and Social Studies were 45 minutes each. I rotated to each classroom to teach English, as I did not have my own room.
Noonish--walk home for an hour lunch (rice topped with meat--either canned or fish)
1-2:30--finish school day
2:30-4:30 ish--lesson plan, prep for the next day, work in the mini school library I put together, hold English Club, etc
4:30 ish--play volleyball with the young adults and older students or take a walk on the beach and exercise
6:30ish--dinner (similar to lunch)
Dark--sit in my hut with solar powered light with my host family's kids (2 4th graders) and often other school kids. I tutored the 8th graders many nights, played cards with the kids, read, journaled, etc
9ish--went to bed

On weekends, I lesson planned, graded, etc. I took beach walks on Friday nights with as many students who wanted to come. This was a highlight of my stay. We'd walk down the beach, and at each house, kids would run up and grab whoever lived there to join us. By the end of the walk, we'd easily have 30 kids! They brought flashlights and ran around, holding my hands, singing songs, etc. It was awesome.

Sunday was church twice--once in the morning and once in the afternoon. My host father was the pastor, so I felt like I needed to go. Not all volunteers attended church, but it's a big community event, so many do.

The boat from Majuro came three days a week. If I wanted to go to the capital for internet, phone, etc I would leave Friday at lunch and return Monday afternoon. This meant I missed 1 1/2 -2 days of work. They were fine with it, but you couldn't do it that often. That was where I had electricity and access to the outside world. I got mail on the boat once every 2 weeks, but could mail out letters anytime the boat left (3x a week--I typically mailed out once a week).

The outer islands are very isolated. You have a radio to communicate with other volunteers and the office staff in Majuro, but mine was broken October-May. I could use the CB radio in an emergency if needed. So I missed out on the volunteer bonding that happened on the radio. Mail took a while to get from the US to the RMI, and then to my island. So I was behind on news. Mail day was amazing though. I lived for packages and letters from home! In Majuro, I could email or talk on the phone to my family and boyfriend. I went about 7 times over the course of the year.

I felt very safe in my town. There was pretty much no crime. I never had anything stolen, but I didn't leave anything in sight that could be borrowed. I had a combination lock on my house door. In Majuro, I was cautious at night, but again, there is not much crime. I imagine there is more theft and petty crimes in Majuro, but I wasn't there much.

I LOVED the giant Christmas celebration and all the 1st birthday parties.

I could talk on and on about my experiences. I LOVED it and highly recommend WorldTeach and the RMI experience to everyone.

My experience in the Marshall Islands was a much different experience than many other volunteers because I was in faculty housing (not with a host family) and I was in Kwajalein - a more urban, populated area. For almost everything involved though, I can say this program is what you make it. We were told from the very beginning to be flexible and independent as much as possible - I was lucky because independence was easy. Many people complained about not getting enough support - I thought the amount of support I was given was fine. I have no complaints. The thing to remember here is that you have to make all the first moves. Marshallese people are generally very welcoming and I think they were glad to have us there, but they're shy. You won't usually be able to tell if they even like you. And as for teaching there - all I can say is if you are someone who takes things personally or you are expecting to do a lot of teaching - this is not the place for you. It is glorified babysitting every day. You have to have a real sense of humor in this placement. I would get so frustrated every day because I wasn't doing much teaching and it really ruined the experience for me, but I know other volunteers who took things in stride and loved teaching here. It depends so much on what you are like. This program is an easy pick because it's fully funded, but you should really consider carefully if it is the right program for you. I would not suggest this program to a friend, but I would absolutely suggest World Teach to a friend - just choose your location wisely. I chose the RMI out of convenience - If I could go back, I would still volunteer to teach, but I think I would choose a different program.

Do not do this program if you actually care about volunteering or teaching!

WorldTeach is not supportive to the needs of their volunteers. Even though I was a volunteer, I was treated as if you I was working for the world's worse boss. The field director treated me as an inconvenience. I was left with no work for over a month and got stuck with the bill when I decided to leave early. They also tried to rip me off of my last monthly living allowance.

If you are planning to teach in the Marshall Islands you should do it directly through the Ministry of Education or the Dartmouth Volunteer Teacher Program.

There are many hidden costs that WorldTeach does not tell you about. Expect to spend thousands of your own money. You will receive zero support from field staff once you are in county. Additionally, the Marshallese people do not want Americans in their country, they will not make you feel welcome.

If you've seen the information about the program, you know that WT in the Marshall Islands is a 10-month commitment to teach either in Majuro, the capital, or on an outer island. My placement was on an outer island in Jaluit atoll.

I had an incredible time. Teaching is the purpose for the program, and teaching consumed most of my time and thoughts. It's not a vacation because it's where you live and work; all the palm trees and white sand in the world can't cure the frustrations that come with being a teacher in a new school that's underfunded and staff that's generally underqualified. Nevertheless, the joy you get from watching your students succeed and discover themselves is completely worth it.

Why Marshall Islands versus anywhere else? While you can have a classroom full of fun, brilliant kids in many places, only in the Marshall Islands can you...

-sail on traditional, reversible mast, handmade sailing canoes
-be sung to and and showered with gifts of coconuts and food with a welcoming party
-be professional because you wear a muumuu to work... every day
-go swimming and it's better than any trip to the aquarium
-watch exorcisms, learn about how to heal with coconuts, and all about Marshallese medicine
-celebrate Christmas by throwing food around and dance in the keyboard show choir
-learn to spearfish, netfish, troll, linefish with no pole, etc.
-have 180 days of tropical sunsets

True, it's volunteering, but in the outer islands the monthly stipend is enough to get by. You won't make any money but you'll have an unforgettable year.