Now it\u2019s their turn to do caroling.<\/p>\n
The man\u2019amko visited the Commonwealth Health Center and the House chamber yesterday, singing classic Christmas songs to spread holiday cheer and joy.<\/p>\n
The group was composed of Saipan Seniors Advisory Council chair Teresita Sorroza, vice chair Maria Salinas, member Meryalen Conrad, and congregates Jacoba Asuncion, Isabel Bodiogan, Herminia Faisao, Terry Sitae, Jose Torres, Elizabeth Yi, and Jesus Pangelinan who played the guitar accompaniment.<\/p>\n
They were accompanied by Aging Center program coordinator Walter Manglona and staffer Alex Laniyo.<\/p>\n
The group first went to the hospital where they sang Christmas songs in Chamorro and English at the lobby, drawing applause from hospital staff and other spectators.<\/p>\n
Koblerville resident Kalmor Datius, who was in the hospital to visit a family member, said the man\u2019amko\u2019s performance helped bring the Christmas spirit to the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good,\u201d said Datius who recorded the presentation using his phone\u2019s video camera.<\/p>\n
Another hospital visitor who lives in Chalan Kanoa said that hearing Christmas carols gives hope to patients and their family members.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people here aren\u2019t feeling the holidays because it\u2019s a hospital. People want to feel better so this is nice. It\u2019s all about the Christmas spirit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Among the spectators at CHC yesterday was Dr. Dan Lamar, acting director for Medical Affairs, who commended the man\u2019amko for bringing the Christmas spirit to the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brings the joy of Christmas into the hospital. It makes people here feel at home and let them know that there are people who support and care for them in their difficult times. It certainly shows the community\u2019s spirit of working together to help meet everyone\u2019s needs,\u201d Lamar told Saipan Tribune.<\/p>\n
Council chair Sorroza said it\u2019s not the man\u2019amko being sung to this time. \u201cWe want to share our love for the community, especially those who are sick. The spirit of Christmas is not just for the healthy. We are here to cheer the sick and we wish them to get well soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following their CHC visit, the group proceeded to the House chamber on Capital Hill where they sang several Christmas songs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are wishing all of you here on the hill, which is closer to heaven, a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year,\u201d Sorroza said, to the delight of the 10 lawmakers and their staffers.<\/p>\n
Rep. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan) said: \u201cIt\u2019s always pleasure listening to them. It\u2019s very joyful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Palacios, a former director of the Aging Center, shared his wish for the island\u2019s elderly. \u201cI\u2019d like to wish them the merriest Christmas of all, good health for themselves and their families. I know times are hard but I hope they put it in their hearts that families come first and as long as they\u2019re together with all their loved ones, I believe that Christmas should be great for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) lauded the man\u2019amko\u2019s efforts to visit them and the patients at the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are our elderly but they make effort to come visit us and sing for us and we\u2019re glad that they sang also in our language,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cabrera noted the value of senior citizens in the community. \u201cBecause of them, we\u2019re here today\u2026I wish to see them again next year and I hope they\u2019ll be back here again next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
A small basket was passed around, where lawmakers and staffers chipped in spare cash for the carolers. <\/p>\n
The group decided to divide the amount, which totaled $84, among themselves, with each receiving $7 each. Manglona and Torres, however, decided to donate their shares to the man\u2019amko funds.<\/p>\n
The man\u2019amko carolers also received a digital copy of their performance and were served refreshments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Now it\u2019s their turn to do caroling.<\/p>\n
The man\u2019amko visited the Commonwealth Health Center and the House chamber yesterday, singing classic Christmas songs to spread holiday cheer and joy.<\/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-157391","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\/157391","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=157391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157391\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}