Chuuk State Non-government Organization (NGO) has been in existence for forty (40) years. Early on, NGO groups were mostly religious in nature. Their main goals and objectives were to promote Christian fellowship.
In the 1980’s there were large number of individual, separate, NGO groups that did not really interact with each other. These different groups were more like clubs that sought to accomplish things within their own village or island with limited resources. Their activities were based more on personal cultural community activities.
In 1984, a small group of civic-minded women realized that in order to be more successful, these individuals and smaller groups needed to communicate and join forces in order to have the resources and influence to bring about positive changes for women in Chuuk. They begin working to create one NGO whose goal would be exactly this. The original organization was led by Mrs. Yurie Gouland, Mrs. Maxie Umwech, Mrs. Shinobu M. Poll, Mrs. Maria William, Mrs. Tanseny Raynold, Mrs. Florence Stanley, Mrs. Christina “Kiki” Stinnett, Mrs. Ansina Kony, Mrs. Conception Ruben, Mrs. Nation Santer, Mrs. Chineina Graham, Mrs. Tina Takashy, Mrs. Gerdenia Walter and the present members of the 40-60 Club of Retired Nurses and those loved ones who have passed away.
In 1991, these women met for the purpose of bringing the entire individual NGO’s together under a single umbrella when the need arose and for better communication. The result of this effort was the creation of the Chuuk Women’s Advisory Council (CWAC) that was officially registered in 1993 with the FSM National Government.
The Council is formally organized with by-laws and officers. The Chuuk Women’s Advisory Council is the umbrella for 64 chapters from all over the state and with over one thousand (1,000) women.
The original goal of the CWAC was to communicate effectively (networking) with all the NGO’s and disseminate information on a local level regarding women interest issues. The CWAC would be the clearing house for women’s issues and concerns.
The CWAC has again redefined its goals and objectives to be more in tune with the current political status of the Federated States of Micronesia and to better address the needs of the NGO’s and communities they represent. The CWAC has changed it’s name to “Chuuk Women’s Council”, leaving out the “Advisory” status.
The CWC is a legally registered NGO with the Registrar of Corporations, FSM National Government, and has acquired U.S. Tax Exempt status to assist in fund raising.
The Chuuk Women’s Council (CWC) now actively seeks funds and donations for a wide variety of programs, projects, and activities. The purpose of our action is to be able to provide resources, direction, and training to other NGO’s to meet the need of our community.
The CWC has sought and received funding from the U.S. Government, AusAid, the FSM National Government, Micronesia Conservation Trust, and Office of the Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC), NZAID, UNDP, and the Japanese Government: Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects (GGP), and Papa Ola Lokahi for a wide range of programs that pursue gender equality and high-level policy action.