About Nauru
Nauru is a small coral island in the south-west Pacific Ocean. It sits about 1,300 kilometres to the north-east of Solomon Islands. Phosphate mining has left the island interior almost entirely barren. There is a fertile coastal strip, where most people live. Nauru is surrounded by coral reef.
Region
Population
10,000 (2022)
Area
21 sq. km.
High Commissioner
-
Capital
No official capital, government offices are in the district of Yaren
Joined Commonwealth
1968, as an associate member on attaining full independence (former UN trust territory); full member since 1999
Top Exports
Episode guests
Gem Dowiyogo
My name is Gem Kayla Dowiyogo from the Pleasant Island of the Republic of Nauru. My parents are Bernard Jnr and Gaye Dowiyogo and I am the eldest daughter of six siblings, namely Flex, Una, Derryn, Emo and Dan.
I grew up in Auckland, New Zealand and I believe learning about the different cultural beliefs of the world, from the epic Greek and Egyptian mythologies to the legend stories in Polynesia instilled in me the curiosity about my own culture and family tree.
I came back to Nauru as an adult and started learning more about my culture, tribe and family tree and got involved in youth work to teach young people about their own culture. I also started teaching art and makeup classes to enable youth, particularly youth drop-outs to be able to have another path in life and be entrepreneurs. I have since been involved with The Nauru National Youth Council, Commonwealth Youth Council, Pacific Young Leaders, The Nauru Chamber of Commerce, the Miss Nauru Organization, the Nauru Tourism board and have founded the Youth Ammo Organisation as I believe I have an obligation to give back to the people all I have learnt.
To sum it all up, I am an artist, designer, a singer, song-writer, a culture and history enthusiast and a youth worker and a daughter of the Pacific, a daughter of Micronesia and a daughter of Naoero.
Tubwa kor, thank you very much for this opportunity.
Soon Enough
I hear the desperate voice of my homeland,
As the waves comfort the sand.
It cries out for its tree-less ground,
We hear it but ignore the sound
Soon enough, it will cry out loud enough to be heard,
When the pain will be sung by the frigate bird
The atmosphere is stabbed with the pinnacles’ point,
And the blood of ugliness anoints
My eyes would have once endured the beauty,
But now they away in pity
Soon enough, we will have to take heed
When the lands run off bleeds it final bleed
Soon enough the land will be gone
Stripped to the marrow of it’s bone
The rest of the body will be left in its fester,
As its spirit reunites with the ancestor
They will sing the tune of nature’s descant,
For the loss and grief of the descendant
