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Pacific Partnership Departs Republic of the Marshall Islands

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090921-17
Release Date: 9/21/2009 4:10:00 PM

By Lt. Cmdr. Nancy Harrity, Pacific Partnership 2009 Public Affairs

MAJURO, Republic of the Marshall Islands (NNS) -- Pacific Partnership 2009 departed the Republic of the Marshall Islands Sept. 18 after 12 days of working alongside the Marshallese, delivering a variety of humanitarian civic assistance programs.

Mission activities centered on medical, engineering and community relations activities on Ebeye, Enniburr and Majuro islands, with medical outreach to Alinglaplap and Jabwot islands.

The combined medical team represented Republic of the Marshall Islands and partner nations Australia, Canada, the Republic of Korea and the United States and non-governmental organizations University of California San Diego Pre-Dental Society and Project HOPE.

Medical teams conducted a day of medical outreach to the remote atolls Alinglaplap and Jabwot, and provided a variety of services as part of a medical civic action programs at Majuro Hospital, Leiroj Kitlang Memorial Health Center on Ebeye and at Third Island Community Center on Enniburr. The team saw a total of 4,032 patients at all sites.

Engineering teams completed a number of projects, including renovation of Ajeltake Public Elementary School and Laura Community Health Center in Majuro, renovation of Enniburr Island water catchment system and installation of a water catchment system and new fencing at Ebeye Community Center.

Ajeltake Public Elementary School in Majuro has more than 320 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. A multinational team of Americans and Australians replaced the school's dilapidated concrete water tank with two new water catchment tanks and platforms to set them on, as well as repaired three other tanks. The team installed new fluorescent light fixtures, new security screens on the windows and primed and painted the interior and exterior of the classroom buildings, repaired toilets and installed new toilet paper and paper towel dispensers. To improve safety and security at the school, they replaced the fencing around the kindergarten classroom building.

At Laura Community Health Center in Majuro the engineering team repaired damaged drywall ceilings in the wards and administrative offices, replaced loose flooring tiles in the waiting area and a double sink in the emergency room; installed accordion-style doors in the wards; replaced fluorescent light fixtures, a hot water heater, toilet and shower head in the restroom, and replaced the water catchment tank, gutter and downspouts. The health center's staff of six provides basic medical care and emergency services to 6,000 residents of Laura.

The engineering team significantly improved Enniburr Island's ability to gather, store and move potable water with repairs to Enniburr Island's water catchment system which serves the island's 1,100 residents. The team removed the existing wood framing and rusted corrugated roofing on the concrete cistern, cleaned and patched the cistern and applied an epoxy/elastomeric coating the cistern's wall and floor. Then they constructed a new roof, gutters and downspouts, primed and painted all exterior surfaces, and installed two solar-powered water pumps.

The team improved water catchment capability at Ebeye Community Center, which serves 15,000 island residents as a site for youth programs, sporting events and cultural activities. Engineers constructed three water tank platforms, installed three new water catchment tanks, 230 feet of fascia, guttering and downspouts, enabling the facility to use large amounts of rainwater which previously drained to the ground. The team improved the security of the site by repairing its fence and installing two new gates at the entranceway.

The Pacific Partnership team completed 28 community relations programs including entertaining children, assisting at medical, veterinary and engineering sites and repairing a playground and delivered 27 pallets of Project Handclasp donations.

Participants for each project came from Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4) crew members and Pacific Partnership mission team members who could spare time from their normal duties.

The Pacific Partnership team this visit included military and government personnel from Australia, Canada, the Republic of Korea and the United States and civilian volunteers from Project Hope and University of California San Diego Pre-Dental Society who worked alongside their local counterparts. Additionally, Interplast accepted surgical referrals from U.S. medical civic action programs.

Pacific Partnership works by, with and through partner nations, non-governmental organizations and other U.S. government and international agencies to execute a variety of humanitarian civic assistance (HCA) missions in the Pacific Fleet area of responsibility from a ship dedicated to this HCA mission.

This year's mission is focused ashore with a variety of engineering, medical and dental civic action programs providing humanitarian civic assistance. The mission also visited Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Kiribati.