Last week, Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, awarded 18 Workforce Investment Agency trainees certificates for completing two separate training sessions during the annual Summer Youth Camp.
The first training held from July 11 to 22 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gym was for the Health and Wellness Camp, a two-week program designed to keep CNMI youth active, improve their athletic skills, teach them the value of sportsmanship and encourage health lifestyles.
The second camp was for arts and crafts and was held for two weeks at the Garapan Community Center. It focused on promoting healthy relationships, teaching survival skills, enhancing leadership and team building along with traditional arts and crafts making.
The students, during the awarding of certificates, shared with Ogumoro the things they learned at the two camps which were sponsored by the Division of Youth Services in collaboration with Northern Marianas College-CNMI Area Health Education Center.
Joe Diaz, the Garapan Community Center coordinator, said the arts and crafts making training sessions were conducted for two batches — nine trainees in the first and the other nine in the second.
He said the training went beyond arts and craft making.
The students also heard from Public School System’s Jerry Diaz, who discussed functional behavior. The youth learned how to deal properly with their peers and to understand a person’s behavior from infancy to adult.
The young participants also learned from health advocate Chailang Palacios virtues like integrity, diligence, truthfulness, unity, assertiveness, love, respect and many more. From Department of Public Safety’s John Laniyo, they learned about dealing with incidents involving hazardous materials.
From the Department of Public Health, the youth learned about the perils of tobacco and alcohol abuse as well as sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, and how to fight the flu.
In an interview, Ogumoro said she is proud to have the opportunity to train the youth and work with community commended.
She commended the youth for doing a “great job.”
“I encourage them to continue to do well and start learning more skills to prepare themselves for jobs,” she said.
