Rotarian Greg Borja, executive director of Northern Marianas Protection and Advocacy Systems Inc., talks about NMPASI during the Sept. 19 meeting of the Rotary Club of Saipan at Crowne Plaza Resort.
AT a Rotary Club of Saipan meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at Crowne Plaza Resort, Northern Marianas Protection and Advocacy Systems Inc. Executive Director Greg Borja outlined the non-profit organization’s history and also highlighted upcoming plans for advocacy.
According to Borja, in the next election season, NMPASI will ensure voting access is equitable among those with disabilities.
“One of the new programs that we have is on voting access,” he said. “We’re talking about people with disabilities having certain rights when it comes to voting here in the CNMI. We’re going to be working with the election commission next year in order to ensure our polling places are accessible for people with mobility limitations.”
He said NMPASI will train election commission staff in best practices.
The NMPASI website states that the non-profit organization exists “to provide legally based advocacy services on behalf of individuals with disabilities and their families in the CNMI.”
Borja said the organization’s roots trace back to 1993, and that their first cases involved providing equitable education to students in the CNMI Public School System.
Borja’s data from March of this year showed that NMPASI serviced 84 clients. Forty of those clients were between the ages of 23 and 59, with 29 clients between the ages of 5 and 22. Seventy-eight of NMPASI clients from the recorded time frame were from Saipan, with three each from Tinian and Rota.
Borja likewise called on his fellow Rotarians to support NMPASI’s advocacy through its 30th anniversary Trivia Night fundraiser, taking place on Sept. 30. Funds raised “will go toward NMPASI’s matching local share of grants for advocacy services.”
Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at NMPASI. For more information, call (670) 235-7273.
