Spirit
of the Island
with
Shawn
Gumataotao
Shawn Gumataotao is co-anchor of News8 Primetime and a contributing author to KUAM.COM.
Correspondence should be directed to spiritofhteisland@kuam.com
The Ayuda Foundation
You can call the Ayuda Foundation a group of good Samaritans. They're a group of medical professionals who care for people living in the outer island of Micronesia. In fact the name Ayuda means, "help". And that's exactly what they did on a recent trip to the Ulithi Atoll in Yap. Dr. Michael Cruz, Ayuda's president, says " We bring doctors, physicians, dentists, nurses, and any other health care workers including supplies to the outer island of Micronesia, who don't have those things."
While the culture may be a bit different than what we're used to in Guam, the crew adapted and found the trip more rewarding than they ever thought. "The name of our foundation is Ayuda and it's funny. Our intention was to go out and help, but whenever I go on a trip like this, I come back and realize that I'm the one that's actually being helped," Cruz adds.
Thanks to the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures and Continental Airlines, the Ayuda Foundation is able to take trips like this several times a year. In fact, according to Simeon Kihleng, their already planning two more trips for this year. "We are planning to take one to the outer island of Chuuk and Yap".
The Ayuda Foundation only proves that when people put their heart and soul into their work, it makes a world of difference to those around them."
Naputi Retail Store
Just off the road on Route 2 in the village of Merizo sits the Naputi Retail Store. Starting off selling soda pop at a little stand in 1950, Lorenzo Naputi and his family continue to serve village residents and the occasional tourist.
The former police officer Naputi says that in the early days of his business it was a struggle to keep the store going in the right direction because of his distance from most of Guam's vendors stationed far from the Southern village. Naputi had to drive to Agana to purchase products himself and his dedication to his business made the difference.
He developed a regular stream of customers purchasing the variety of goods from household cleaning items to foods.
Naputi tells us that just as he imparted to his six children whom he sent away to pursue higher education, people should work hard to get what they want. This, even today when our economy is seeing some very difficult times.
The hard work is what Merizo residents have seen over the last five decades. He has set an example that many island mom and pop stores should look to for inspiration.
Ernie Wustig: Local Farmer
In northern Guam lies the 20 acre farm of Ernie Wustig. The Wustig family has been farming the land in the area for decades. Though taking a hiatus in the 1980's to tackle the cattle and agriculture industry in the western United States, Wustig now has aspirations of taking Guam's agriculture industry to new heights.
He says he loves the smell of fertile soil when he wakes up in the morning. Skill, he says, will bring a great crop or a fruitful harvest.
Whether it be banana, soursap, guava, or even bokchoy, Wustig believes the quality of product and the state of farming on Guam is changing for the better.
As a member of the Department of Agriculture's board of commissioners, Wustig is pushing for increased agriculture teaching in our island's schools and working to developworkshops to complement the skills of older farmers. This he feels, will lead to the success of the industry in the local and regional marketplace.
Reach Out
Even in the year 2000, it appears that being a teenager is difficult for some. Over the last year Island school aged children, specifically high school students, over come by peer pressures and turbulent home lives, chose to end their problems by taking their lives.
The recent reports of teen suicides on the rise prompted Jolenn Duarte and a handful of her friends at Simon Sanchez High School in Yigo to take action.
Duarte and company chartered "Reach Out", an organization whose mission is to help students cope with the tough issues they face… especially suicide.
Member Theresa Moore says from the first presentation, interest from the Simon Sanchez student body in helping their peers would grow by leaps and bounds. As a result of this growth, "Reach Out" has been asked by, among others, The Department of Public Health and the Youth for Youth organization, to share their message of awareness on teen suicide with them.
Today, "Reach Out’s" mission has expanded. They expect to deal with other issues like school violence and drug abuse in the near future.
The Guam Fisherman's Co-op
The Guam Fisherman's Co-op is the lifeline for many island fishermen. With some 160 members, made up of full and part time fishermen, the co-op provides not only a market place for the fish to be bought, but a place to share their catches with the masses. Catholic Social Service, the Department of Education, even the Department of Corrections benefit from the work at the co-op which, in 1999, generated an estimated $1.5 million dollars in fish sales, all despite a down turn in the Asian economy.
The co-op's commitment to providing the community with the best fish is evident in annual quality certifications administered by the US food and Drug Administration. This certification is a safety program that ensures the consumer is getting the best food product available.
Outside of being a major player in the regional fishing trade, the non-profit organization does have added responsibilities. They provide fuel, oil, and all types of service for the fishermen. This commitment by Michael Duenas and his staff shows the true spirit of service to its members and ultimately to the people of Guam.
Habitat for Humanity Guam works to help those Island residents who would have never been able to build a home
Two houses have been built on Guam by the group in recent months, with 13 more expected in the year to come. Guam President Zeny Santos says the reaction to the overwhelming show of gratitude by the new homeowners has been tremendous.
Habitat for Humanity of Guam is even branching out their effort through the opening of offices throughout Micronesia.
The
Make a Wish Foundation
Meet Kelly Mundell….this
15 year old boy with bone cancer wanted to meet Pro Football Great Steve
Young of the San Francisco 49ers….and got his wish. Through the Guam
chapter of the Make A Wish Foundation, Kelly got to meet his hero at the
Niners final home game of the 1999 season.
The
largest wish granting foundation in the world was founded in 1980 and has
81chapters in the U.S. and its territories.
Kelly’s was one of the 8100 wishes granted nationwide.
On Guam, the wishes are all made possible through many corporate
sponsors.
The
Guam Make A Wish foundation, an organization bringing joy to those kids
that need it most, possesses the warm spirit of the island.
Manny Crisostomo
He is the most
successful of photographers in Guam’s history.
Manny Crisostomo was inspired to be the best in the industry after
the insistence of a former managing editor of a local paper whom
Crisostomo said tore him down by telling him he had no future in the
business. The former youth
writer and lab technician turned in his pen and chemicals for his first
camera purchased with money from a tax return.
From shooting odd
shaped foods to spot news, Manny would leave Guam for the United States
mainland.
He eventually made his
way to the Detroit Free Press where he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1989.
Upon returning to Guam several years later, he began to teach his craft to
island college students. Currently, he is hoping to introduce a
photo program geared to the youth of Micronesia to foster the growth of
photography in a whole new way.
Manny says there is a commonality in man that brings out the spirit he exemplifies in his work. It’s one that seeks to bring the images of our island people to others seen through one of its native sons.
The Chamorro Village
Call it wholesome
family entertainment Guam style…it’s the Wednesday Night Market at the
Chamorro Village. This
bustling cultural center was once a very dead one.
At one time critics thought that the 10 million dollar facility was
a huge waste, but along came Bruce Perez, the mind behind the night
market.
The crowd at the
night market has grown from two hundred people each week to over four
thousand. About Thirty percent of the crowd are tourists, another
glaring number for a facility that competes with Tumon and its Pleasure
Island on a daily basis. This blossoming is a direct result of the
Wednesday night event.
Outside of the
vendors, the cultural presentations, and the food, the Chamorro Village
and their weekly showcase offers more to island residents and guests
alike. Perez says it offers our island culture, something he says
should be shared with all.
The U.O.G. Mural
It’s a project that
was created from the heart. A
wall at the intersection of routes 10 and 15 now showcases the work of art
students from the University of Guam.
Started in the fall
of 1999, Dr. Joe Babauta and his students have used the project as a way
of giving the gift of art back to the community. Some sixty students
would work on the project, each pouring “blood, sweat, and tears” into
this visual masterpiece.
The mural is quite
unique in that it is a combination of a variety of themes and the goal for
the young artists was to simply make them all fit together.
Outside of the obvious fun the students had in giving back to the community in the form of a mural, the lessons learned from the project have given the students the inspiration to move forward and try their artistic hands with other mediums.
Maria Roberto
Marcial Sablan Elementary School in the village of Agat is fortunate to
have the services of Maria Roberto, an administrator for over 20 years in
Guam’s public school system. She says her philosophy of education
has stayed the same over the last two decades but the practices have
changed with the times.
Roberto says that
biggest challenge she has faced day in and day out at her four assignments
within the Department of Education is the education of what she calls the
“Total Child” by looking at the child yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
It’s evident that
she loves to work with children…something that has driven her for so
many years. She adds that as an administrator, working well with
parents and teachers has complemented those efforts.
Southern Comfort
Ranch
In the heart of the Southern
Village of Merizo is the Southern Comfort Ranch. The facility has
come a long way from its days as a rescue ranch for horses. From
dogs to chickens to pigs to goats, there is no shortage of animals here at
the ranch….and no shortage of material for Guam school children to
absorb when they come to this place which has become a popular center for
field trips.