Gov. Benigno R. Fitial left the crowd in stitches yesterday when he told them that he actually feels right at home at the Aging Center.<\/p>\n
During yesterday\u2019s proclamation signing declaring the month of May the Older Americans Month at the Man\u2019amko Center, Fitial said that on the night before the proclamation signing itself, \u201cI felt pain from top to bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy time is near,\u201d he deadpanned, adding, \u201cI\u2019m looking for someone to replace [me].\u201d<\/p>\n
The governor\u2019s lugubrious statements were met with laughter by the crowd, who could easily identify with the governor\u2019s bodily aches and pains.<\/p>\n
The governor read his proclamation speech in three languages: Chamorro, Carolinian and English. Man\u2019amko members Janet Thorne read the proclamation in English, Susana Santos read the proclamation in Chamorro, while Olympia Saralu read it in Carolinian.<\/p>\n
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Daisy Villagomez-Bier also provided a brief speech both in English and Chamorro to recognize the event. <\/p>\n
Villagomez-Bier said the Office on Aging has been providing the CNMI\u2019s senior citizens with \u201can opportunity to socialize at the Man\u2019amko Center; transportation services for doctor appointments, bill payments, and other errands; a complete and healthy meal that meets a third of the recommended dietary allowance; family caregiver support for elderly caregivers and those who care for the elderly; part-time employment for qualified older citizens; and referral to other important services provided in the CNMI for our senior citizens.<\/p>\n
Villagomez-Bier told the man\u2019amko that the CNMI needs them, \u201cYou are the key to our past and our future as a society.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Older Americans Month\u2019s theme for this year is \u201cChoices for Independence.\u201d <\/p>\n
The theme is an opportunity for both the young and the old to work together in harmony and to protect the islands\u2019 man\u2019amko from neglect by promoting and strengthening family values through public education.<\/p>\n
Fitial is calling all federal, state, local government officials, businesses, communities, faith-based organizations, families, health care professionals, volunteers, and all citizens to publicly reaffirm the island\u2019s continuing commitment to honor older Americans\u2014the man\u2019amko.<\/p>\n
Office on Aging\u2019s Howard Macaranas said there are several activities lined up for the man\u2019amko in May such as a getaway beach party on Managaha Island and so much more. <\/p>\n
Department of Public Safety Ernest Mark Williams, and representatives from Department of Public Health, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and other government agencies also attended the event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial left the crowd in stitches yesterday when he told them that he actually feels right at home at the Aging Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100207\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}