Welcome!

Iọkwe!

 

My name is Benetick Kabua Maddison and I am the Executive Director at the Marshallese Educational Initiative. On behalf of the entire MEI team, I'd like to welcome you to our website and introduce you to our organization and work.

 

Last year we celebrated our 10 year anniversary as a nonprofit! I first joined MEI back in 2014 as part of the team collecting oral histories, and was one of the guest speakers at a nuclear remembrance event at the Clinton Presidential Library. There we spent time to reflect on the 60th anniversary of the Bravo detonation, honor the victims/survivors who experienced the testing first-hand, and educate the public about the ongoing consequences of our nuclear testing legacy and climate change. It was my first presentation about climate change and its impact on our Islands.

 

As MEI's ED, part of my role is to educate the general public, lawmakers and diplomats, and our Marshallese youth about those twin existential threats and the challenges our people face day to day that are linked directly to the nuclear legacy.

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Please follow us on social media to keep up with our various activities and announcements. Our team is busy working on programs with youth, women, and elders and helping our community navigate life here in Arkansas and the greater United States.