Chamolinian non-profit group gets shot in arm

Bridge Capital vice president Vincent Bidez, second right, and business development manager Joe Guerrero, third right, present the ceremonial check to the traditional voyagers of Satawal, Rep. Ramon A. Tebuteb (Ind-Saipan), right, and Gordon Marciano, left. The money is for the non-profit group Chamolinian Cultural Inc. (Jon Perez)

Non-profit group Chamolinian Cultural Inc. received a $5,000 donation from Bridge Capital with the money set to be used to support their various projects of promoting and preserving the Chamorro and Carolinian cultures.

Carolinian traditional voyagers, led by navigator John Lalogo, along with Gordon Marciano and Rep. Ramon A. Tebuteb (Ind-Saipan), accepted the ceremonial check from Bridge Capital vice president Vincent Bidez and business development manager Joe Guerrero.

Guerrero said the donation is just part of Bridge Capital’s commitment to further help in the promotion of the Chamolinian culture like the traditional way of navigating and sailing the seas.

“The money will be used in promoting the group’s projects like learning the skill of the traditional voyaging. Navigating the oceans is part of the education and learning our culture,” said Guerrero.

“This is just a seed of starting a program to teach the way our ancestors sail the seas. This is just a small part of our efforts to make this happen,” he added.

Lalogo, who is among the 15 master navigators in Satawal Island, including the son of the legendary Pius Mau Piailug Sesario Sewralur, welcomed the donation as it would help them in keeping the tradition alive.

“There are only 15 of us left in Satawal and we would like to share our knowledge to others who wanted to learn and keep the tradition,” said Lalogo, who was part of a 16-member crew that arrived Tuesday afternoon aboard two Micronesian-style, single-hull canoes.

Their group was a bit delayed after encountering bad weather one day in their journey from Satawal to Saipan. “The mast broke but luckily we bought a spare so we just fixed it. We had no more problems after that,” said Lalogo.

Sewralur and his crew aboard the Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe Alingano Maisu arrived on May 7 from Palau. He along with the second batch of master navigators led by Lalogo will attend the 12th Festival of the Pacific Arts, which opens on Sunday in Guam.

Seven-year-old Dylan—Sewralur’s son—is the Maisu’s youngest crewmember that also includes Rodney Kazuma and Murais Sebangol of Palau, Satawal’s Miano Sowraenpiy and Albno Esoailug, Norman Tawelimai of Ifalik, American Aylie Baker, and Japanese Kazuyo Hayashi and Osamu Kasuge.