Catalog

She lives with her husband in a oneroom house in Rita. They have five children from 7 to 14 years old, but only two live with them. The eldest lives on Majuro and two others were adopted by non-Marshallese parents in the United States. Her husband has not worked for a long time. He left school when he met her and she became pregnant. Their house is made of cement bricks with a cement floor and tin roof. However, parts of the wall have collapsed and there are plywood screens hiding a gaping hole. They have no water catchments or electricity.

She started working at the fish factory on Majuro about 2 months ago and earns $100 a fortnight including overtime. Her husband said the economic situation is really bad because there are not enough jobs and the rate of pay is not enough for one family. He said that lots of children go around looking for food and sometimes all they have to eat is coconut meat with salt.

She spoke about the stress women feel due to problems with their husbands and the heavy burden placed on working mothers. She said she often suffers from headaches and grumpiness as a result. She acknowledges that things are difficult, but says that they have enough to get by. She says their economic situation has always been a struggle and she has not seen any changes over time. Speaking about the difference between the levels of hardship found on Majuro and the outer islands, she said, “There is no difference. We are all struggling.”