It’s a center that provides informational and educational services to families from the Freely Associated States, which include the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. Today, the Micronesian Resource Center One-Stop Shop, a project of Mañe’lu, opened the doors to their new Tamuning office.

Executive director Samantha Taitano said, "If anybody is just in need of assistance and doesn’t know where to go, our team is really knowledgeable in all the different services that are available here on Guam. We can connect you to either government programs or other non-profit programs."

The new office is also home to the Edimund Wengu Micronesian Learning Center, where they offer a variety of programs and other activities for self-development. Taitano continued, "It’s a space here in the office, but we are also able to take the equipment out with us. It’s a place for us to hold workshops, presentations, we also offer it to our partners and people can also come in for some individual learning here as well. So we have a lot of laptops behind me and we also have a projector that’ll be in here as well. So we just have lots of things going on in here and lots of opportunities for people to empower themselves."

 

"We have a workforce development program. It teaches financial literacy, soft skill development and then pre-employment. So building a resume, preparing for an interview. We also have a study session called 'Ready to Drive' and it’s helping people just study up for their drivers test."

Taitano shared that the resource center caters to those from the Freely Associated States, but added it’s open to anyone seeking help. "We have multilingual case workers here that speak four of the main languages in the FSM, who are able to assist people, do translations, interpretations, services, just help people get through any sort of process whether it’s applying for public benefits or also applying to a job," she explained. "So our team is here to help with that."

For those interested in taking any of the programs the Micronesian Resource Center offers, or if you’re just in need of help, you can contact them at (671) 789-1265 or check out their website at manelu.org.