Ujae Atoll
Ujae Elementary School in the mid-200s. Photo: Betsy Murphy 
What other uses are there for baseball bats? Photo: Betsy Murphy 
Ujae: It’s like living in a screen saver! Photo: Betsy Murphy 
Peter Rudiak-Gould heads out on a canoe from the shore at Ujae Atoll. 
A Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority underwater photo in Ujae lagoon. 
A Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority staff member dives in beautiful Ujae lagoon. Photo: MIMRA. 
Peter Rudiak Gould teaching on Ujae Atoll in 2005.
FACT FILE
Number of Islets: 15 Population RMI Census 2021: 310 (153 males, 157 females) Land Area: 0.72 square miles Lagoon Area: 71.79 square miles Ujae yacht permit fee: Free Ujae Mayor: Morris James Jr. Ujae Nitijela Member: Bremity Lakjohn
Ujae is west of Kwajalein, near Lae. The atoll is famous for its ‘jobwa’ stick dance, a unique style of dancing that’s performed on only the most special of occasions. WorldTeach volunteer Betsy Murphy taught at the school in the 2005-06 academic year and kindly gave me these photographic insights. WorldTeach volunteer Peter Rudiak-Gould also spent a year on Ujae Atoll in 2003-2004 and wrote a book of his adventure called Surviving Paradise: One Year on a Disappearing Island. Read a review of this wonderful tale at Amazon.
Below is a BBC interview with Peter.
