Otobed was born in Aimeliik on the Palauan island of Babeldaob to Berenges Oiterong and Taurengel Otobed, the second of six children. Her brother Rechiuang Demai Otobed went on to become the first Palauan to earn a degree in entomology. She began attending school in Ngeremlengui at the age of six. Between 1953 and 1956 she was a pupil at Palau Intermediate School. She then moved up to Pacific Islands Central School, where she was enrolled between 1956 and 1959. After being accepted into the Central Medical School in Fiji, she attended the Trust Territory School of Nursing until her course began in 1960. During her time in Fiji she was part of the Fiji table tennis team that won gold at the 1963 South Pacific Games. The following year she was Fijian national champion in women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.