Japan-Palau Alumni Series: Vol.31- Ms. Fenny Ediloi Lokelani Seklii

Ms. Fenny Ediloi Lokelani Seklii is an alumna of the JICA SDG Global Leader Program (formerly Pacific-LEADS). She studied at the Ritsumeikan University Graduate School and successfully completed the program in 2020, earning a Master’s degree in Policy Science.
 
Ms. Seklii is the daughter of Mr. Fenally Seklii and Ms. Eileen Midar and is the eldest of four siblings. She has been employed at the Embassy of Japan in Palau as the Political Liaison Assistant since 2021. Her family lineage spans several Palauan states, including Airai, Ngarchelong, and Aimeliik, where she spent much of her childhood.
 
When she was younger, Ms. Seklii lived in Aimeliik State with her grandparents, Ms. Kerngokl Ngiralmau and Mr. Seklii Ngiralmau. She attended Aimeliik Elementary School for most of her elementary education and later graduated from George B. Harris Elementary School in Koror State. She completed her secondary education at Bethania High School, now Emmaus-Bethania High School.
 
After graduating from high school, Ms. Seklii earned an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts from Palau Community College. She then applied and was accepted to the University of Hawaii at Hilo. While waiting for her departure, she worked briefly at a local hardware store to save for university expenses. She moved to Hawaii and graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Administration of Justice and a minor in Business Administration.
 
Following graduation, Ms. Seklii fortunately secured a four-week internship at the Office of the Attorney General through the Palau Fellowship Award. After completing her internship, she was hired as an administrator for the College Access Grant Scholarship and later worked as an Administrative Officer under the Bureau of Education. She served with the Bureau for three years before learning about the Pacific-LEADS Program. She applied and was accepted to study at Ritsumeikan University.
 
Before beginning her studies in 2018, she spent a few weeks at the JICA Center where she learned basic Japanese and visited different sites in Japan. Out of 99 applicants, only 20 representatives were accepted, and Ms. Seklii was one of them. Her other classmates consisted of students from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, and many other Pacific countries. When she was at the JICA Center, Ms. Seklii said that she felt like she knew many Japanese words because the Palauan language uses many Japanese loanwords. Every time she spoke in class, her teacher was both amused and a bit shocked by how many Japanese words she knew, and would point out that some of the words she used, such as jidosha and others, were slightly outdated. Although some of her answers weren’t always correct, her teacher told her that she appreciated Ms. Seklii’s enthusiasm because it made the class more interesting and enjoyable. Ms. Seklii also told us that she felt comfortable in Japan because Japanese culture was similar to Palauan culture, especially in the way people value politeness. She added that the environment always felt safe, and she was comfortable enough to leave her belongings in public spaces without worrying about them.
 
After a few weeks, she was notified that she would depart for Ritsumeikan University. While there, Ms. Seklii began her master’s research on homelessness, specifically focusing on developing public policies for homelessness in Hawaii, a place she was already familiar with from her undergraduate years. She told us that, thankfully, the scholarship was able to cover her travel to Hawaii and her housing, allowing her to further her research.
 
As part of the scholarship, she was also able to visit Okinawa for two weeks with two other Pacific-LEADS participants. During their visit, they toured different eco-friendly companies, and afterward, they presented what they had learned and discussed how these practices could benefit their home countries if similar systems were implemented. They visited many places in Naha but they also went to different islands in Okinawa such as Izenajima and Kumejima.
 
Ms. Seklii also visited Kyoto Prefecture, drawn to its historical sites, and went skiing in Shiga Prefecture in her free time. When we asked if she had any favorite foods in Japan, she shared that because she lived in Osaka, she often passed takoyaki stalls near her school campus. It quickly became her favorite, and even now, though it’s been a while, since she’s been back she still looks for that same taste. Another favorite was the “karaage” or fried chicken from the convenience stores. She smiles as she tells us that most people don’t understand why she would choose something so simple, but she insists it just tastes different.
 
Then, in 2019, she got a call from a Palauan friend in Yokohama who was short one person for a sailing competition. Naturally adventurous, Ms. Seklii volunteered and ended up spending Christmas and New Year’s aboard a sailboat. Laughing, she explains that she told her family she was going sailing, but conveniently left out where. On the day of the race, she called her father and casually announced, “I’m sailing home to Palau.” He was shocked but couldn’t protest; after all, she had told them she was going sailing, and they had already told her it was a great idea. It wasn’t all smooth sailing as they encountered a few issues with electricity and running water aboard their sailboat, but they made it and won third place in the sailing competition.
 
She had returned to Japan and unfortunately her grandmother had passed away in March of 2020. So she came back to Palau to attend the funeral, while she was in Palau the borders suddenly closed due to Covid-19. So Ms. Seklii had to do the final presentation of her thesis online. Even though she wasn’t able to attend her graduation in Japan, her family held a small graduation party for her with the JICA representatives who were in Palau at the time.
 
After learning about her experience, we asked Ms. Seklii what lessons from her time in Japan, she continues to apply in her daily life. She shared that she now takes time management very seriously and relies on a planner to organize her day-to-day schedule.
 
As this project began last year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Japan-Palau relations, we also asked Ms. Seklii for her thoughts on the tokubetsu friendship between the two countries. She believes Japan and Palau share a deep bond and hopes it will continue well into the future. From her perspective as a political liaison assistant, she recognizes the growing geopolitical tensions surrounding Palau’s strategic position, but she hopes that strong relationships with Japan and other partners will endure and help ensure Palau’s safety.