Donations Help Chuuk Women’s Council Empower Women, Bless Families 

In an effort to empower and bless the lives of women living throughout the 16 volcanic islands of Chuuk, perhaps no organization has been more proactive than the Chuuk Women’s Organization (CWC).  

Specifically, CWC works to help women to achieve healthier and more self-reliant lives by providing mobility aids, nutrition counseling, exercise opportunities, emotional support, and other important services. 

Recognizing the critical value of CWC’s mission and efforts, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has made contributions to help extend the organization’s ability to serve the women of Chuuk.

Among its contributions, the Church has recently donated 125 wheelchairs, several pairs of reading glasses, pedometers, and equipment to set up a Zumba class. 

The wheelchairs were distributed throughout the Chuuk Islands and help many women to have increased mobility in their daily lives. More will be provided in the future. 

Reading glasses help those with limited vision to read educational material that is provided by CWC. Dozens of pairs of glasses were donated. 

A specific resource that the Church has made available, not just to CWC, but to all islanders living in Micronesia, is a program manual entitled, Eat Healthy and Be Active: A Pacific Diabetes Prevention Education Programme. The manual is available in Chuukese, Kosraean, Pohnpeian, and English. 

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Helping and encouraging women in Chuuk to be more physically active has been a central goal of the CWC. Recently CWC sponsored a walk-a-thon, “10,000 Steps for Health” in which many in the community participated. To help in this effort, the Church contributed pedometers so that walking woman can count steps and measure their walking distance in meeting daily exercise goals. 

“We want to help people to be more healthy and to get out and walk,” said Lidy Jane S. Aler, who assists her mother in directing the affairs of the CWC. Since the Walk-a-Thon, more people are walking now. They understand that they need to be active.” 

To promote these healthier practices, the CWC holds fairs to make people aware of healthy practices. “We have a street market with local, healthy food. The market features only local food, products, and services.” The market also includes a booth to promote family history for local residents. 

Aler expressed CDC’s appreciation to Bill Davis and Brett Child who represent the Church of Jesus Christ’s humanitarian outreach in the Guam/Micronesia area: “From my heart I want to say we couldn’t do all these things without your love and donations.”