OIA PRESS RELEASE

New Organization, Mije, Created To Support
Marshallese Serving In The U.S. Armed Forces

Majuro, Marshall Islands (April 28, 2008) - A new non-profit organization will be chartered in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the upcoming days.  The organization will provide a support network for all the Marshallese soldiers serving in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, their families, and friends.   The non-profit organization has been named , an old Marshallese word which means "to stand behind or support".

first event will be a benefit concert in the Marshall Islands, featuring various local bands, scheduled for May 17, 2008 at the RRE Marketplace. members have been selling $1 raffle tickets which will also work as door tickets to the concert. The raffle includes many great prizes, including a grand prize of $1,000.  Proceeds from this first concert will be shared with U.S. Army PFC Carl REIHER, a Marshallese soldier currently undergoing treatment at Walter Reed Medical Center in D.C.  Any remaining proceeds will be used for future activities, such as care packages for the soldiers serving in harm’s way.  

Members of the organization welcome families and friends of all the Marshallese troops to join the organization.  Please feel free to email mijemarshallislands@gmail.com for more information on how you can help show your support for our troops. 

For further information on , you may also contact Jessica Reimers Langijota at jlangijota@gmail.com.

U.S. Army Private First Class Carl Reiher, a citizen of the Marshall Islands, serving in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom was wounded in April 2008 in Iraq.  He is being treated at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.  He is the second citizen from the Marshall Islands to have been seriously wounded in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

For more information on Islanders serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, please visit the Office of Insular Affairs website here. (http://www.doi.gov/oia/Firstpginfo/islanders_in_the_military/index.html)

The Office of Insular Affairs is proud to recognize the men and women of the U.S. Insular Areas and Freely Associated States who currently serve in all branches of the United States Armed Forces.