NMTech students donate Thanksgiving meals to Karidat

Culinary Arts students of the Northern Marianas Technical Institute, as well as students under its Baking and Pastry programs, prepared and donated traditional Thanksgiving meals to clients of Karidat Social Services’ Guma Esperanza last Tuesday at the NMTech kitchen in Lower Base.

The meals included several pumpkin pies, as well as turkeys and ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and vegetables.

Karidat executive director Lauri Ogumoro, who was joined by her staff in receiving the meals on behalf of Guma Esperanza’s clients, was thankful for the donation, noting that the shelter is currently full.

“We have plenty families up there now…” she said “So we appreciate that someone thinks about them and cares for them. …That makes it special.”

Guma Esperanza is Karidat’s shelter for women and children.

Ogumoro said that Thanksgiving is mostly about family, so the donation means a lot to their clients.

“Thanksgiving always revolves around family, and turkeys and giving thanks for what we have, so it really means a lot,” she added. “Thanksgiving is always about getting together with family. That always stays the same. Whether It’s in the [United] States or here, everybody appreciates family.”

She extended her gratitude to the students and staff at NMTech. “…Your giving back to the family at Guma Esperanza is very important because they’re away from their families, and they really appreciate that you care about them.”

Besides giving back into the community, the project is also intended to show that the skills the students have learned at NMTech can be transferable to the job and workforce, said NMTech marketing and outreach coordinator Ben Babauta Jr.

He said this is NMTech’s third year of partnership with Karidat, and it is a combined project of the Culinary Arts Level 1 and 2, as well as baking and pastry students.

“We used the skills that they learned here in Culinary Arts, and use that to give back to the community,” said Babauta. “We are thankful that this is our third year that we are partnering with Guma Esperanza and we hope they enjoy the meal.”

One of the students, Zyrhon Gapor, said he started exploring recipes and cooking from watching YouTube videos of his favorite chef, Gordon Ramsey.

Since then, Gapor has been learning to cook using different styles, and yesterday watched the potatoes and pies he helped prepare go to a good cause. He felt like it was a win-win, because he was also helped, too.

“This was my first time doing this, and it would be really great to continue this as a tradition,” said Gapor.