A Call for Leadership and Policy Action
Dear Editor,
If we want Palau to have a future worthy of our ancestors’ sacrifices and our children’s dreams, we must shape that future deliberately. Too often, we drift letting outside forces define our priorities, values, and opportunities. But the truth is simple: nations that thrive do so because their leaders set clear policies rooted in the needs and strengths of their people. For Palau, that means committing to five practical, interconnected practices. These are not mere ideals; they are the building blocks of national resilience and pride.
1. Teach Our Kids to Love and Serve Palau: Our schools should not only prepare students for jobs, but for service to the nation. The message must be clear: we serve Palau first. How we serve is determined by each person’s talents, experiences, and passions, whether through farming, entrepreneurship, science, teaching, or leadership. Countries that rise above economic and social challenges are those where citizens see themselves as stewards of their homeland. Our leaders can embed this principle into the education system through curriculum reform, national service opportunities, and recognition programs that reward contributions to Palau. Without love for our country, the brightest minds will leave and never return.
2. Make Palau Self-Sufficient: True independence is more than a flag or anthem; it is the ability to meet our basic needs without relying entirely on imports or outside aid. Food security, water security, and energy security are the three pillars of self-sufficiency. Leaders must drive policies that encourage local agriculture, protect freshwater sources, and invest in renewable energy. This isn’t about isolation, it’s about ensuring that in times of crisis, Palau can feed, power, and sustain itself. The global supply chain is fragile; hurricanes, pandemics, or geopolitical tensions can cut us off in days. Self-sufficiency is not a dream… it is a necessity.
3. Make Palau a Stronger Family: As research consistently shows, the most powerful predictor of a child’s success is being raised in a loving, stable home. When parents stay together and raise children in an environment of care and discipline, we reduce poverty, crime, and addiction. Policy can support this by creating family counseling programs, parental education workshops, and incentives for responsible parenting. Leaders must view strong families not as a private matter, but as a national asset. A nation of healthy families produces healthy citizens; without this foundation, every other development effort is weakened
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4. Strengthen Palauan Communities through Self-Reliance: A country is only as strong as its people, and people are only as strong as the communities that support them. In Palau, cheldebechel our traditional village clubs, once played a central role in building skills, maintaining security, and caring for community health. Reviving and adapting these systems for today’s needs could provide each community with its own localized safety net. Policies should empower cheldebechel to work alongside local governments in education, disaster preparedness, and community development. This is not nostalgia, it is common sense to rebuild the networks that once ensured no one was left behind.
5. Establish a Service Corps for Palau: If we want our youth to love and serve Palau, they must have opportunities to do so in a structured way. A national “Service Corps for Palau” could require every young person to spend time working in either their father’s or mother’s community during summers or designated service periods. Guided by cheldebechel and local leaders, they could help address community challenges, from infrastructure to environmental restoration. This not only builds problem-solving skills but strengthens the bonds between youth and their ancestral homes.
A CALL TO LEADERS: These five practices are not just ideas, they are a blueprint for national survival and progress. But they require more than speeches and slogans. They demand laws, budgets, and sustained political will. We need leaders who understand that loving Palau means making the hard choices today so our children can live well tomorrow. Without policies that teach service, secure our resources, strengthen families, empower communities, and engage our youth, Palau will remain dependent, fragile, and reactive.
The measure of our leadership will not be in how many conferences we attend or how many foreign grants we secure, but in whether Palauans can stand on their own, proud and prepared for the future. The time to act is now.
Your Humble Servant
Al Kahalic