Pohnpei pulls Pasha
The National Environment Service (NES) will, next Monday, lose one of its most experienced staff Pasha Carruthers, to The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) where she will take up a three year contract as Climate Change Officer for Micronesian nations.
Pasha, who began at NES in May 1999 and who did much at the international meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to promote the concerns of the Cook Islands and indeed all small island states, in regard to climate change and its potential affects, becomes the latest in the “brain drain” of talented young Cook Islanders to greener pastures.
In a way, it is good that regional organizations recognize that as a small nation we have much to offer in terms of skills at the policy and planning end.
Pasha told the Times on Thursday evening that she will be based at Pohnpei, one of the four states that collectively, make up the FSM (total population 100,000). However, she will also oversee the other nations in Micronesia, such as Guam, Palau and the Northern Marianas.
Pasha will be based at the SPC sub regional office in Pohnpei (known as the North Pacific Office). Besides her, there are 8 staff based here including a Fisheries officer, Agriculture officer and 2 HIV/AIDS officers.
Her job is funded by the EU which has other climate change officers appointed in four other Pacific regions (but not the Cook Islands). A Supervisor oversees them all. Her tasks are to identify Micronesia’s priority needs, develop project proposals and help implement projects.
Pasha said she felt it was time for a change. She had come as far as could with NES and needed to broaden her experience, take on new challenges and continue to learn and develop. She had applied for a job in Noumea but missed out on that. She was then advised there were positions in Fiji, Samoa and Pohnpei. She opted for Pohnpei.
This will be her first time in Pohnpei indeed in Micronesia. The pay is in US dollars and English is the working language. She is looking forward to the job as Pohnpei is a modern place fairly much like Rarotonga but without the beaches.
Next Monday she leaves for Fiji to attend an orientation course. She then travels to Pohnpei by a round about route via Korea, Guam and Chuuk (part of FSM).
Pasha says the people of FSM are very proud of their culture and she plans to take plenty of Cook Islands products with her so her residence becomes a show piece of our culture.
We wish her good luck in her new job. -Charles Pitt

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