Feeding the world

By Katy Nesbitt

Valedictorian of her 1980 high school class, Republic of Palau native Sandi Wells, ’86, packed her bags, got her passport and traveled to La Grande to study business and economics.

Self-described as “wise beyond her years” and a go-getter, Wells followed her older brother to Oregon.

“There were not a lot of opportunities where I grew up, and I saw how hard my mother worked and my grandmother struggled,” Wells said.

Wells attributed this attitude to Palau’s maternalistic culture. 

“In Palau it is desirable to have girls,” Wells said. “They bring power and money into the family.”

It also means that family obligations fall on the oldest female child.

After raising a family and working in banking compliance and financial regulation, Wells’ status as her family’s oldest daughter came into play. 

“When my mother became older and needed more care the responsibility fell on me,” she said.

Wells moved back to the Pacific Islands to nurse her aging mother and put her decades of regulatory experience to work for the National Development Bank of Palau.

“The job held a lot of responsibility,” Wells said. “The bank makes low-interest housing, business, agriculture, fishing and commercial loans to develop the nation.”

Three years later, Wells’ mother had died and her contract with the bank had ended. She settled her mother’s affairs and returned to Oregon. While looking for regulatory work, Wells volunteered at the Milwaukie Center as a board member, raising funds to help people pay bills and receive Meals on Wheels. 

“Once I started volunteering with the Milwaukie Center and got involved with other nonprofit community-based organizations, I realized how many of my people are here that I did not know about,” Wells said.

Beyond those from Palau, she has learned more about Islanders from Micronesian, Polynesian and Malaysian islands. The 1986 Compacts of Free Association (COFA) defines a relationship between the United States and the independent governments of the Freely Associated States of  Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the 1994 COFA with Republic of Palau (ROP). 

Similar to indigenous American tribes, Wells said Islanders face barriers to health care and other services because of discrimination, language barriers, interpretation access and poverty. Through her volunteer work, she got a job helping COFA citizens living stateside sign up for the Affordable Care Act.

The Oregon Food Bank named her its 2020 “Food Hero” for her contributions to nutrition and community health. She was selected to chair the Multnomah Pacific Island Coalition, and helped institute the first Pacific Islander Community Health Worker (CHW) certification training. She also trained as a medical interpreter translating for Palauan native speakers. When the pandemic hit, Wells received certification as a COVID-19 contact tracer. 

“During the height of the pandemic from September to December I wasn’t sleeping,” Wells said. “The demand for help was incredible.” 

She even coordinated with Oregon Food Bank and Rengelkel Belau of Oregon to help EOU students get food gift cards and other services while they were unable to fly back home during the pandemic. 

“I’m not one to sit still and do nothing for long,” Wells said. “I’m a go-getter and I like helping people.”