July 26 to August 3, 2008:  Office of Minority Health and the GUAHAN Project to provide Capacity-Building training in Palau.  Various community-based organizations in Palau will benefit from a partnered capacity-building training provided by OMH and the GUAHAN Project.  Board roles and responsibilities, organizational development and sustainability information will be presented and discussed to help ensure the success of existing and emerging community-based organizations (CBOs) in Palau.  This is important because CBOs can make a significant difference in the level of services, advocacy and positive social change in the community and often in faster and more effective ways compared to being totally reliant on local and regional governments to respond.  Jose Garcia, GUAHAN Project HIV Prevention Specialist and Al Silverio, GUAHAN Project Executive Director, will represent the GUAHAN Project.  OMH will be represented by Dr. Jose Carneiro, Project Director, Jay Blackwell, Director, Capacity-Building Team and Henry Ocampo, Capacity-Building Specialist.  This team will be in Palau from July 26 to August 3, 2008.

July 19, 2008:
 GUAHAN Project 5 Year Anniversary Celebration! 
The Guam HIV/AIDS Network Project will celebrate 5 successful years as Guam’s only AIDS service organization.  Please join the GUAHAN Project on Saturday, July 19, 2008 at the Guam Reef Hotel Bayview Room from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM for a special lunch and awards ceremony.  Awards will be presented to outstanding local, regional and national individuals and organizations that contributed to the success of the GUAHAN Project.  There will be a variety of special entertainment throughout the event.  This is a free event so please join us in celebrating this exciting and important milestone in GUAHAN Project’s fight against AIDS on Guam.

July 8, 2008:  Department of Corrections Receives Basic HIV Training.  Guam Public Health and the GUAHAN Project currently provide Basic HIV Training to the Guam Department of Corrections staff that includes correctional officers, supervisors, social workers and other administrative personnel.  The incarcerated population of HIV positive individuals have unique and critical needs and situations that require updated training and information from the community.  Because of this new training program, future plans now include HIV antibody Counseling, Testing and Referral services to the Department of Corrections staff in partnership with Guam Public Health and the GUAHAN Project.

July 3, 2008:  Jermaine Chargualaf, GUAHAN Project Administrative Assistant, Defends the U.S. in Iraq.  Jermaine is a U.S. Army reservist who will be deployed to Iraq to defend our country.  He has been involved as a very active volunteer and staff member of the GUAHAN Project in the many various activities, events and services offered to the community.  Jermaine plans to return to Guam after his year-long deployment to Iraq.  The GUAHAN Project fully supports Jermaine in his service to protect our country and our freedom.

May 16, 2008:  James Madison University Students and Faculty Visit GUAHAN Project
From May 11 to May 26, students and faculty from Virginia’s James Madison University (JMU) will study “HIV/AIDS From the Micronesian Perspective” in collaboration with the GUAHAN Project.  The students will interact with various community leaders on Guam to discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS on the island.  Dr. Todd Sabato and his students will explore the unique cultural experiences of the Pacific with a focus on Guam.  GUAHAN Project Executive Director stated, “It is a great honor and privilege for the GUAHAN Project to be working with James Madison University to make this visit possible.  The students and faculty will be able to see first-hand the unique and rich culture that identifies Guam and how the disparities in health service delivery make it a very big challenge to address AIDS in our communities.”

 

April 21, 2008:  Kay Strawder Visits the GUAHAN Project

Left Photo:  L to R: Jose Garcia, Maggie Murphy Bell, Kay Strawder, Barbara Bernardo, Renate Alik and Terry Aguon at the GUAHAN Project Pacific Resource & Training Center.

A very warm “Hafa Adai!”  to Kay A. Strawder, the Women's Health Coordinator for Region IX of the U.S. Office of Public Health and Science.  Strawder visited Saipan before her short, and first-ever, visit to Guam on April 21st.  While on Guam, she met with Maggie Murphy-Bell, Guam Public Health Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Coordinator, Terry Aguon, Guam Public Health Medical Social Services (MSS) HIV Case Manager and the GUAHAN Project staff.  Opportunities for greater empowerment of women, particularly in relation to HIV prevention and cultural appropriateness were discussed.  Strawder has been a strong supporter of the GUAHAN Project by shipping vital educational materials to the GUAHAN Project Pacific Resource and Training Center (PRTC) and by providing critical information for the empowerment of women.  The GUAHAN Project warmly thanks Kay Strawder for her support of the organization and her continued advocacy for the Pacific communities.    

April 17, 2008:  The Kontenda’s Gym Presents - The 1st Annual Kontenda’s Classic
On Saturday, May 17, 2008 at the Westin Resort Guam Somnak Ballroom, Kontenda’s Gym will present the 1st Annual Kontenda’s Classic.  This day-long event will feature a variety of local organizations promoting health and fitness awareness and preventative measures to related illnesses.  Joining this group of organizations is the GUAHAN Project with the visiting students and faculty from James Madison University in Virginia to promote HIV antibody Counseling, Testing and Referral (CTR) services as well as Urine-Based Sexually-Transmitted Disease testing.  In addition, the GUAHAN Project will provide free information on healthier lifestyles, including tobacco cessation and tuberculosis.  In addition to the exhibits, Kontenda’s Gym will be hosting tournaments in Jiujitsu, Judo, Kickboxing, and a Bodybuilding and Fitness/Figure Competition.  For more information, please call Kontenda’s Gym at 647-9280.     

April 5, 2008: GUAHAN Project Community Outreach
The GUAHAN Project provides free information to difficult-to-access communities on Guam for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted infections through door-to-door community outreach. In some isolated Guam communities, water, power and sewage systems are not in place or not available to many people. This comes from a variety of reasons and largely remains an unresolved problem. The GUAHAN project visits these remote areas and provides notices of future outreach services to help prepare for actual visitations. The next large-scale outreach will involve 12 visiting students and a faculty member from James Madison University in Virginia, working collaboratively in a comprehensive field work experience with the GUAHAN Project. Outreach provides opportunities for at-risk individuals to receive information that could improve their quality of living and may save lives as well. In addition to free informational materials, the GUAHAN Project provides HIV counseling, testing and referral services plus urine-based STD testing, all free and confidential to the community.

March 15, 2008:  GUAHAN Project to Present at the 2008 NASW Conference
On March 27th, three GUAHAN Project staff members will be presenting a session entitled “Empowering Chuukese Women Living on Guam for HIV Prevention” at the 2008 Social Training Conference by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Guam Chapter.  This will be the first time for the GUAHAN Project to formally present at this annual conference.  GUAHAN Project staff members Barbara Bernardo, Jose Garcia and Renate Alik will provide interesting and innovative strategies used by the organization to make HIV prevention more effective among the Chuukese women living on Guam.  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, Asian Pacific Islanders women are the fastest growing group of hew HIV infections.  This year’s conference theme is “Building on Strengths.  Social Workers – Help Starts Here.”  The GUAHAN Project is honored to be included at this conference, which is in collaboration with the NASW and the University of Guam. 

March 6, 2008:  Washington, D.C.  APIAHF Leadership Summit          
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) held their 2008 HIV Leadership Summit in Washington, DC March 4-6, 2008.  Valuable information was presented regarding organizational financial sustainability, donor development and financial objectives in the context of Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.  It was also an opportunity to exchange and share such experiences of national AIDS community-based organizations participating in the summit.  Al Silverio, GUAHAN Project Executive Director, attended this meeting.  He stated, “This summit will enhance our efforts to sustain operations by strengthening the financial health of the organization.”   In addition, participants were able to visit their respective congressional delegates.  Silverio met with Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Chief of Staff John Whitt and Press Secretary Joseph Duenas to discuss GUAHAN Project updates and key AIDS issues.  

February 29, 2008:  OraSure Risk Reduction Workshop          
From January 28 to February 1, 2008, the GUAHAN Project Pacific Resource and Training Center (PRTC) as the site for OraSure Risk Reduction Certification for new counselors. Mary Santa Maria, Health Educator for the Maui District of the state Department of Health and Peter Silva from the Life Foundation in Hawaii were the trainers for this workshop.  Successful participants were certified to provide oral HIV antibody Counseling, Testing and Referral (CTR) services for people at-risk for HIV infection.  This training included participants from the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Island Jurisdictions of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Republic of Palau and Guam.  This workshop was a multi-agency collaboration that included the Life Foundation, Maui District of the state Department of Health, Guam Public Health and the GUAHAN Project.  Congratulations to the participants, all of who successfully passed this workshop

February 24, 2008: RENT Musical Production a Success!
Conscious Living and the GUAHAN Project collaborated to bring the RENT musical production to Guam. The cast, crew volunteers and sponsors helped raise AIDS awareness on Guam to new and important levels. GUAHAN Project congratulates all who were part of this successful event, especially to Conscious Living, a Guam wellness organization. Conscious Living worked tirelessly and professionally to make sure the play was a success at every step of the process. Part of the money raised will help GUAHAN Project provide Guam enhanced AIDS awareness and education efforts, especially to women and girls. Additionally, Conscious Living will use part of the proceeds to help enhance recycling efforts on Guam.


L to R Lisa Baza, Clare Calvo, Pepe Garcia, Ron Romero and Gina Ramos

February 22, 2008:  PIJAAG Hawaii Meeting
Core members from the Pacific Island Jurisdictions AIDS Action Group (PIJAAG) held their annual face-to-face meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii February 20 – 22 at the Life Foundation office.  One of the main topics of discussion included the determination of PIJAAG’s future.  The group decided that PIJAAG should continue; however, it was decided that PIJAAG should continue with changes to ensure effectiveness in the Pacific.  One of the outcomes included the start of creating a regional directory of available HIV/AIDS services, materials and resources.  This was deemed necessary to inform the community about HIV/AIDS support in the region. 

Another outcome was to follow-up with a letter to Dr. Fenton, Director of the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for HIV, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Tuberculosis prevention, in reference to a face-to-face meeting held in December 2007 with members of the Asian Pacific Islander community representatives.  The PIJAAG group agreed that since no response has yet been issued to the API / PIJAAG audience in the December meeting, a reminder to Dr. Fenton was in order to keep the momentum going for API / PIJAAG HIV issues and concerns.

In addition, a new PIJAAG co-chair was elected.  Alex Silverio, Executive Director of the GUAHAN Project, was voted as the new PIJAAG co-chair.  This was the first time a community representative accepted being elected as a PIJAAG co-chair.  Capacity-builders and core members stated their intention to remain committed to PIJAAG and to make changes needed to keep this process strong and meaningful for the islands. 

OMHRC Awards GUAHAN Project $80,000 for FY 2008
The Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC) granted an $80,000 Pacific Resource & Training Center (PRTC) award for fiscal year 2008.  Mr. Henry Ocampo, OMHRC Capacity Building Specialist, informed the GUAHAN Project of this generous award which will allow the PRTC to continue offering HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) materials and resources to Guam and the U.S. Pacific island jurisdictions.  The OMHRC, a U.S. federal government agency based in Washington D.C., has been providing the GUAHAN Project with capacity-building support since 2003 and remains GUAHAN Project’s single largest funding source.  The GUAHAN Project sincerely thanks the Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC) for this grant award.

GCC Donates Christmas Trees to Guam Families

For the second consecutive year, the Guam Community College (GCC), shared in the holiday spirit of giving by donating and delivering 20 live Christmas trees to some very deserving families on Guam.  The beautiful fresh trees were given to Guam Department of Public Health’s Children With Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) and for people living with HIV/AIDS on Guam.

Lolita C. Reyes, GCC Assistant Director of Alumni and Relations, coordinated this donation with Terry Aguon, Guam Public Health HIV Case Management Social Worker with Medical Social Services.  Aguon is also the President of GUAHAN Project, Guam’s only AIDS service organization.

The trees were especially welcome in this time of economic uncertainly and the reality of decreasing community health care resources.  GCC’s generous donation sets an excellent example of giving back to the community, especially to those who may be less fortunate or who may be facing difficult situations this holiday season.

The GUAHAN Project extends sincere thanks and appreciation to the Guam Community College for their outstanding and conscientious community support and advocacy. 

GuamNetwork Donates Showcase Listing

People now have another way to find out more about the GUAHAN Project.  GuamNetwork is a Guam Business Directory and web portal that generously donated a Showcase Listing to the GUAHAN Project.  This enables more potential Internet users to discover the GUAHAN Project and the many free services and resources it offers to the community.  It also creates and enhances partnerships that are beneficial to a wide array of community stakeholders.  GUAHAN Project appreciates this donation as yet another way the messages of HIV/AIDS prevention, education, awareness and care are accessible by the communities on Guam and around the world.