Journal 10/16/1987
P4 No se, señor
Dan Wales’ neighbors are like the three monkeys that hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil. Over the weekend Dan’s fence disappeared. Eight sheets of roofing tin, that keep yeast walkers and gas sniffers from using his yard as a meeting place, just vanished in thin air. In was all ijaje and iñok when Dan went around to ask if anybody saw anything.
P13 World Council eyes health needs
A five-member team representing the World Council of Churches arrived in Majuro earlier this week for meetings and consultations with the Ministry of Health and the religious community. The team, composed mostly of medical doctors with experience in primary health care in developing nations, is representing the Christian Medical Commission and the Church and Society programs of the World Council that is based in Switzerland. “We want to placate primary health concerns of the Marshall Islands very clearly on the World Council of Churches’ agenda,” said team leader Dr. Erlinda Senturias, from the Philippines. The team spent the early part of the weekg meeting with Minister Tony deBrum and Secretary Marie Maddison.
Journal 10/16/1998
P1 Rongelap return
Fish are abundant on Rongelap, as Mayor James Matayoshi and other visitors to Rongelap are finding. Rehabilitation work being done by construction company PII has fixed and extended the airport runway, and cleared land, making it possible to see the Rongelap Protestant Church, which has been unattended for 13 years since the people evacuated themselves in 1985 to Mejatto Island in Kwajalein.
P12 More than 70% of Majuro checked
About 15,000 people — more than 70 percent of the population — in Majuro have been screened for leprosy in the current nationwide screening and treatment program. The Ministry of Health had discovered 87 new cases of leprosy on Majuro, and health authorities said they expect to find more than 100 by the time the survey finishes. The Micronesian Region has one of the highest rates of leprosy in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
P13 Majuro canoe house built
The first traditional style outrigger canoe house to be seen in Majuro in many years was recently completed by Youth to Youth in Health/Waan Aelon Kein (Canoes of These Islands). The towering 40-foot structure is large enough to house a voyaging canoe, as well as serve as a center for building outriggers. It’s the first phase of what is to be a boat building center with two canoe houses. Overseeing the work were Project Manager Alson Kelen, consultant Dennis Alessio, assistant project manager Emlin Oscar, captain/trainer Tira Hanchor, and trainee Francis Lolin.
Journal 10/16/2009
P3 Jurelang: ‘Wards worse than prison’
Majuro Senator and Speaker Jurelang Zedkaia says the condition of prison facilities in Majuro are better than Majuro hospital’s patient wards. His comment made during Monday’s Nitijela Committee of the Whole session with the Ministry of Health raises grave concern as repeated annual reports by the US Department of State say that Majuro’s prison facilities violate human rights. Zedkaia says he is “very surprised with the condition of the hospital. We failed by not giving you more money to renovate the patient wards. Prison facilities are better than Majuro hospital’s patient ward.” Kwajalein Senator Tony deBrum criticized his Nitijela colleagues: “What does Nitijela expect Ministry of Health to do without money?” he questioned.
P16 Regional sea rise triple rest of world
Sea level rise in Micronesia this decade has been three times that of the rest of the world, a Guam-based meteorologist told an international meeting at the ICC last Friday. “Globally, the average is about three millimeters per year increase in sea level,” said Dr. Mark Lander. “In Micronesia, we’re seeing 10 millimeters (0.4 inch) per year.”