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As it appeared in the Guam PDN, Sunday September 6, 2015.

Sandy in San Diego column

The connection among Chamorros across the world has always fascinated me.  The response to the recent crisis following devastating typhoon Soudelor in the CNMI has been a testament to this enduring connection.

A few weeks ago, I reported on the response of the CNMI San Diego Club.  Immediately, the group put a fundraising effort into place, followed by a collection of item donations for victims of the typhoon.  The outpouring of help since then has been remarkable.

A total of $10,600 was collected and provided to Saipan’s Karidat Social Services.  As of September 1st, a 40’ container was filled with needed water, clothes, non-perishable food and school supplies.

CNMI San Diego Club President, David Atalig recently met with the CNMI Lieutenant Governor, Ralph Torres who reported that things were still very bad for the residents of the CNMI.  Atalig told me that 400 homes are still uninhabitable, water is restored, but full power restoration is not expected for weeks.  Businesses are not able to open, leaving people unemployed and unpaid.  School is starting, but supplies are short. Much was destroyed in the storm.  Things like bug repellant, candles and batteries are scarce and have become expensive.  The repercussions are sad and mounting.

As news of this has spread, the Chamorros around the world have come together to help.  A planned 20’ container of donations grew to become a 40’ container coming out of San Diego and Los Angeles.  Other containers were reportedly filled in Hawaii and in Washington State, and will soon be on their way.

Organizations pitched in.  “We could not have done it without the Guam Club,” says Atalig.The Sons and Daughters of Guam Club in San Diego provided their patio as a storage area for a month for the San Diego donations.  Their associated fiesta and cultural groups helped with collections.  Pacific Toll Processing in Long Beach helped to prepare and load the container, while the Matson Foundation provided the shipping.

Many doing the physical loading of the container were former residents of Saipan.  Young and old had family and a bond to the island that compelled them to see the assistance project through.

The CNMI Club is still hearing of needs on the islands, and plans to collect yet more donations.  Karidat social services says that more than once, their food supplies have run short.  “People are calling us to empty storage units and garages.  We have people drive to homes and load up vans. It’s nice to see people so giving.  We hope to fill another container,” reports Atalig.

The container from Los Angeles should arrive about September 18th, to provide some relief to the victims of the storm.  We send along our thoughts and prayers for a full recovery soon.

Photos below by Susan Castro-Cabrera.

In a Cal State University Long Beach common room, twenty-five Chamorro youth are hearing about the art of the suruhana. Tan Perci Flores, the daughter of a suruhana from Santa Rita, tells of her experience collecting medicinal herbs and the cures they effected in her mother’s practice.  The day before, UCLA professor Keith Camacho lead a discussion on the political history of the Mariana Islands.

This is the Ta Fan Apatte Chamorro cultural immersion camp.  Ta Fan Apatte means “What we share,” in Chamorro.  It is put on by the Kutturan Chamoru Foundation, sponsored by the Cheyenne Angelica Foundation and hosted on the Cal State Long Beach campus.  For three days and two nights, these young Chamorros of southern California will be immersed in learning about the art, traditions, language, history and current issues of their native islands.  Additional presenters include Mario Borja on the Sakman Chamorro Canoe, Peter Onedera on Chamorro language, and John and Janelle Fejeran on Chamorro history and artifacts.

While getting a focused education, the Ta Fan Apatte students will also be exposed to a taste of life on a University campus, sleeping in dorm rooms and spending time with a CSULB counselor who will assist them in their goals to attend college.

The organizers of this unique opportunity are Heidi and Joey Quenga, co-directors of the Kutturan Chamoru Foundation in Long Beach, California.  The attendees have come together from various cultural groups including Uno Hit, Kutturan Chamoru, Irensia and The Chamorro Language Foundation.  All students had to apply for their spot, but there is no charge for attendance.

After attending a session, I joined Heidi Quenga and the students at lunch, which they took along with other summer college students, in the campus cafeteria.  Heidi shares how impressed she and the speakers have been with the level of discussion in the presentations.

“I keep asking myself, is this really happening?”  said Heidi, “Have we made a small impression on our Chamorro kids to want to go to college and be proud of their heritage?  Will this uplift our community one child at a time and show our youngest community members that there is a support system outside of their immediate family that cares about their success?”

After lunch, the group will be hearing from The Foundation for Chamorro Art, Crafts, Artifacts and Education and studying their display of the traditional Chamorro latte house and other artifacts of ancient Chamorro life.

I wished I could stay, but I had to head back to San Diego to avoid the worst of the afternoon traffic.  But first, Heidi and I share hopes that this camp can be expanded.  This opportunity was put together for a few thousand dollars.  What could they do with more support?

“I can’t wait to have 100 Chamorro kids participating.” she tells me.

You can learn more about the Kutturan Chamoru Foundation and how to support their education efforts at www.KutturanChamoru.org.

This column was published on February 8th, 2015.

February 21st will mark a major milestone for an important project known as I AM CHAMORRO. A crew will arrive to do two weeks of filming on Guam and the CNMI toward completing this effort.

It was just about two years ago that this project began. I remember an early conversation with the project lead, Joanne Carbullido Tabor Modic about what was barely more than an inspiration at the time. Based on the work of Capuchin Friar, Father Eric Forbes, plans were being laid for a full length Chamorro history documentary. She envisioned a widely distributed “Smithsonian quality” film to be shared with the world, and especially our dispersed Chamorros.

This project did not come about suddenly. Father Forbes has been researching and document-ing Chamorro history for more than 26 years. In 2011, he presented a full day history workshop to a Chamorro audience in Los Angeles. I was not able to make that workshop. In 2012, I at-tended two of his three workshops which were presented to capacity audiences in Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco bay area. It was at these workshops that Father Forbes was asked to create a video of his history teachings so it could be more widely shared.

The plan was commendable, but seemed overwhelming; the creation of a script, the shooting of a documentary, and a budget of at least $150,000. The non-profit, Manhita Chamorro was formed to carry out the I AM CHAMORRO project. Volunteer board members are Rex Agagas, Rich Modic, Annette Ada, Denise Perez Agagas, John Agagas and Father Eric Forbes. They went forward with little more than faith and determination.

“It was the San Diego community that gave it the springboard it needed.” Joanne Modic shared. Early supporters at a fundraiser by the Chelu organization boosted the project financially and energetically.

One of the first steps was to create a movie trailer that gave a glimpse of the final concept, and then Joanne and her team set about raising funds and securing sponsors.

I AM CHAMORRO became a common sight at Chamorro events. They sold t-shirts and other gift items. They offered sponsorships of various levels. Chamorros in the US responded, as did Chamorros in the Marianas. While Father Forbes has worked on the scripting of the film, the Manhita Chamorro team worked with supporters in both California and the Marianas to complete the needed fundraising.

The project has received assistance from all over the world. Rosanne Meno distributed I AM CHAMORRO t-shirts in Washington DC. Heidi Ballendorf and Peter Ada and others organized the September 2014 fundraiser on Guam. “I was just talking with a woman in DeMoines, Iowa who wanted to buy a t-shirt,” said Joanne when I interviewed her. There have been many big and small supporters and many stories along the way. Sorry, I couldn’t begin to share Joanne’s extensive list here.

“None of this would be possible without the generous support of individual and family benefac-tors, business and government entities. We owe them, and our entire Chamorro people, the best documentary that we can possibly create,” said Father Eric Forbes.

Despite the amount of work, the Manhita Chamorro team is glad the fundraising is being done this way. “We could have done this with three big sponsors, but this is the people’s project,” Jo-anne Modic told me. They are grateful to have received an appropriation from the 32nd Guam Legislature and major sponsorship from the Bank of Guam. Many of their contributions, howev-er, came one $20 t-shirt at a time.

Now their initial goal to complete the filming has been met. They continue to need to fundraise, however, in hopes of including more material and features. Opportunities to be a supporter of the project are on their website, www.IAMCHAMORRO. The film will include names of its sup-porters starting at the $1000 sponsorship level.

The final I AM CHAMORRO full length film is expected to be available in time for Christmas 2015.

In addition, this Guam history documentary will be featured at the Guam Festival of the Pacific Arts 2016, and the soon to be constructed Guam Museum.

Said Father Eric Forbes, “We are very excited about filming this unique documentary; unique in more than one way. We are trying to tell the story of a people, not the story of events that hap-pened in this or that place. Instead, the people are front and center in this documentary. We will look at all the Chamorros, wherever they were and now are. We will look at events, but from a Chamorro perspective and at how these events affected the Chamorro people.”

I can’t help but be impressed by how true the vision for this project has proven to be. I AM CHAMORRO will not only be a Chamorro history documentary widely distributed for Chamorros everywhere, it will be included in the Guam collection at the Washington DC Smithsonian museum.

See the article as it was published, below.

www.UNOHIT.org

Uno Hit in combination with the Kutturan Chamoru Foundation, performed at the Pacific Islander Festival (PIFA) in September 2014.

Peter Onedera provided Uno Hit instruction in Chamorro Language.

Uno Hit rehearses at a local dance studio in San Diego.

Uno Hit students preparing for a performance.

Uno Hit's MaryAnne and Jenise wait for show time at the Chamorro Cultural Fest.

Uno Hit dancers Genesis, Aubrey and Angel with Alina, center.

Candace and Dakota (behind) prior to the Chamorro Cultural Fest in 2013.

Bonsall West Performance Group

Heidi Quenga instructing Uno Hit on the Chamorro afabetu, 2013.

Mario Borja gives a lesson on the Chamorro Sakman canoe.

Uno Hit dancers accompany Kutturan Chamoru for a performance at the Guam Liberation reception on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, July 2014.

Uno Hit students learn to assemble their performance skirts.

Students in San Diego ask questions following a Guam Chamorro Dance Academy workshop

The Che’lu organization in San Diego adopted the Uno Hit project a little more than a year ago, and it is now an established cultural resource for the San Diego community and beyond.

Che’lu is known for its Chamorro Cultural Fest and Sakman Canoe project.  For the 2013 Chamorro Cultural Fest, board members hosted the Inetnon Gef’pago dancers from Guam.  The group did a free workshop for the community, which nearly 40 students came out to participate in.  From that, a seed of an idea began to grow: San Diego needed to offer Chamorro dance instruction.

Fast forward to today.  Classes of between 30 and 60 students are held weekly throughout the year.   The project is called “Uno Hit” which means “We Are One” in the Chamorro language.  It refers to the desire to unite the Chamorro people in their culture, wherever they live.  The program is tuition free.

Uno Hit is sometimes the first cultural education the stateside students receive.  It has included guest instructors like Mario Borja on the Sakman, Father Eric Forbes on Chamorro history, and Peter Onedera on Chamorro language.  It has also helped to launch GVB’s Guam Chamorro Dance Academy in the mainland, introducing its young dancers to dance master, Frank Rabon in March of this year.

Uno Hit’s dedicated instructor is Heidi Quenga, director of the 21-year-old Kutturan Chamoru Foundation in Long Beach.  Heidi and her husband and co-director, Joey Quenga have taken Uno Hit under their wing, sharing opportunities to perform at major venues including the Pacific Islander Festival (PIFA) in San Diego, and the Guam Liberation picnic and reception in Washington D.C.

Says Heidi, “I am humbled and honored to stand alongside the parents, apprentices and committee in ensuring the Chamoru culture is not forgotten.  My work with Uno Hit has given me the opportunity to engage 100+ participants in just 14 months, and I appreciate all the love and support.”

Uno Hit also serves their local community, performing at local fiestas, medical fundraisers and cultural events.  The Sons and Daughters of Guam Club in San Diego provides Uno Hit invaluable support, offering their facilities for classes and events.

Uno Hit has been influenced by some of the finest Chamorro cultural educators, including the newly designated master, Vince Reyes.   With the Festival of the Pacific Arts coming up on Guam in May of 2016, the students now have their sights set on returning “home” to experience this unprecedented cultural opportunity.

“Uno Hit has influenced me to not only embrace my culture but also demonstrate my culture through song and dance,” says MaryAnne Santos, who has been a student with Uno Hit from the beginning.

It is no secret that this cultural dance education has been my pet project. Additional committee members are Brienda Diaz and Loling Cepeda.

The enthusiastic students are what fuel the passion for the work.  It only takes seeing a young Chamorro exhibiting their pride in their culture to get hooked.

For more information on UNO HIT, please see www.UnoHit.org.

To keep the project tuition-free, Uno Hit accepts tax deductible donations through the Che’lu organization.  See the UNO HIT donation page here.

Si Yu’us ma’ase’

The Guam observance of Chamorro month spilled over in many ways to the Chamorro population in the US this last March.  One important cultural promotion was the launch of the Guam Chamorro Dance Academy at the Che’lu Chamorro Cultural Fest in San Diego.

The Chamorro dance effort on this side of the Pacific faces the difficulty of resources being too few and far between.  With some effort, costumes and music can be acquired.  But how do you get the attention of a qualified dance instructor more than 6,000 miles away from the islands? 

Recognizing this difficulty, the Guam Visitors Bureau has committed to helping existing and aspiring US based Chamorro dancers as part of their initiative to build capacity and excitement for the 2016 Festival of the Pacific Arts (FestPac) on Guam.  Their program, funded under their Cultural Heritage And Community Outreach (CHACO) committee, is the Guam Chamorro Dance Academy.

The dance program launch was timed to take advantage of the concentration of dancers in San Diego for the Chamorro Cultural Fest on March 29th.  Master of Chamorro Dance, Frank Rabon, arrived prior to the Fest and spent two days holding workshops with the Kutturan Chamorro Foundation in Long Beach, and the San Diego based Uno Hit and Imahen Taotao Tano dance groups, as well as the visiting and the curious. A few were learning the dance for the first time. Many learned additional choreography and technique.  Everyone had a chance to hear from Frank Rabon and accompanying performers about their experience as Chamorro dancers and their own travels to prior FestPac events.  Students’ questions included, “How is Chamorro dance different than Polynesian dance?” as well as, “What was it like to travel as a Chamorro dancer?”  The hope is that, as dancers or attendees, these young Chamorros will be enticed to return to Guam as the island hosts FestPac 2016. 

Therese Arriola, the CHACO committee chair, promised that the launch at the Che’lu Chamorro Cultural Fest is just the beginning of many more Chamorro dance workshops.  Workshops will be planned around major events that bring Chamorros together, especially in the largest Chamorro settlements of California, Washington and Texas.  Said Arriola, “I would like to see this happen a minimum of three times a year.” 

The highlight of the launch was when the participants of the Guam Chamorro Dance Academy workshops came together on the Chamorro Cultural Fest stage. Dancers wore the respective costumes of their groups, but the combined performers danced as a single group. The image of the collection of dancers moving together embodied the theme of the festival, “Man Uno Hit” (We Are One).  It would be nice to see more of this, courtesy of the Guam Chamorro Dance Academy.

It always feels good to come across good work being done by good people in the community.  I appreciate the chance to share how a San Diego group is assisting the ill, especially ill children and their families that need help during a medical crisis.

Please read as it appeared in the Guam PDN on February 9th 2014.

The newest Chamorro group to form in San Diego is known as the CNMI San Diego Club established in November 2013 to help CNMI citizens in the area, especially those who have come as medical referrals.

Although the group can only identify about 200 CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) citizens in the San Diego area, they attract membership from as far away as Los Angeles, a two-hour drive away, and gathered a group of 30 at their last membership meeting. The Club officers are David Atalig, president, Frank Norita, vice president, Shirley Lababit, secretary, and Susana Cabrera, treasurer.  Ken Conception is the club’s public relations officer, and spoke with me about their mission.

“We have been seeing a huge number of medical referrals, especially our children, that were being referred from the CNMI due to heart problems and other problems… being referred to Rady Children’s Hospital or Ronald McDonald House,” Ken told me. Rady Children’s Hospital is a renowned area medical facility for children.

Ken explained that when a child is referred to Rady Children’s Hospital, they and one parent or guardian are provided air transportation along with an accompanying nurse.  An ambulance is available to take the child and one parent of guardian from the San Diego airport to the medical facility.   Fortunately, Rady has so far been able to house the referrals at their adjacent Ronald McDonald House residence for families.  Insurance or Medicare often covers the medical costs. However, accompanying family members, often here for an extended time, must provide for themselves.

“When we found out that these people, these children, that were being sent from the CNMI out here were just being medical referred and a lot of them didn’t have any mode of transportation; didn’t have any mode of going anywhere, even to buy food…” said Ken.  “A couple of these families were requesting on Facebook for donations to buy things such as laundry soap, daily hygiene needs…  We found out, they weren’t given a stipend.  And we decided to form this organization.”

There are now four children and their families at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.  Over the Christmas holidays, there were as many as seven families. Currently, the CNMI San Diego Club has someone standing by to provide transportation, whether it is to and from the airport, or to buy groceries.  Expenses are paid out of club members’ own pockets.

The club is currently pursuing non-profit status so that they can qualify for grant money to provide services. They have also received an offer of assistance from the Cal Islanders Humanitarian Association aka CIHA, which has been doing similar work in Orange County, just north of San Diego.

And their efforts have not gone unnoticed.  Thanks and praises have come from the CNMI, including an official letter from the CNMI lieutenant governor.

Says Ken Conception of the CNMI San Diego Club, “We’re available to everyone from the CNMI that is being sent out here.” Donations are gladly accepted, and money as well as things like laundry soap and daily hygiene supplies are helpful.  New members are also welcome. You can call Ken Conception, the CNMI San Diego Public Relations Officer at 619 823-9059 or email him at LANCHERU@HOTMAIL.COM.