Where is my community center?

The recent typhoon was an eye-opener to many of our residents in the community (Chalan Kanoa, Fina Sisu, Susupe, and portions of As Lito and As Perdido) who sought temporary shelter from the force of Typhoon Vongfong. Preferably, we would like to have our residents seek temporary shelter closest to their homes.

Ideally, the community centers throughout the villages should be one of the designated temporary shelters, as was the case in past decades or so. Instead, many of our residents were transported to nearby schools in the villages for safety from the damaging winds of Typhoon Phanphone. We are grateful to the Public School System for making these facilities and bus services available to our residents at such a critical time.

What happened? Some of the community centers were transferred to either a non-profit organization or a religious group that were not keen to provide such service in critical times such as the recent typhoon that we experienced. This was the case with the two centers in Chalan Kanoa district 1 and district 2. The Ayuda Network (Karidat) and United Methodist Church, respectively, were arbitrarily assigned these two facilities.

Similarly, other community centers in Chalan Kanoa district 3 and Susupe district 5 are in a state-of-disrepair—abandoned and dilapidated beyond belief—with the exception of the community center in Chalan Kanoa district 4. That center is new but has not been funded for any program to exist nor service to be provided to the community, especially for our children, youth, and man’amko residing in the nearby village.

Interestingly though, a community center to serve the Fina Sisu, As Lito, and As Perdido areas are not available. I am not sure if the intention of our public-policy leaders was to have the residents utilize the community center in the nearby Koblerville area (adjacent to the fire station)? But this facility is located in Precinct 1 and should serve especially the community to which it is intended for—the Koblerville residents.

The only sports facility in the precinct that can be utilized by our youth is the basketball court in Chalan Kanoa district 1 (next to Korason de Jesus Chapel). This means that our youth from Chalan Kanoa districts 2, 3, 4, and Susupe district 5 must commute to the basketball court to play a full game because it is the only facility that has complete basketball rims. The rest of the sports facilities have either only one rim, which means the youth can only play half-court, or no rims at all, or the floor is not safe for our youth to play on. Need not say more!

Public Law 18-66, or the “Appropriations and Budget Authority Act of 2015,” that was passed on Sept. 16, 2014, did not include or identify any funds for programs in these critical areas to serve the residents in our community of Precinct 2 (Chalan Kanoa, Fina Sisu, Susupe, and portions of As Lito and As Perdido). In the last decade a specific language in the budget bill to appropriate funds to rehabilitate the community centers and sports facilities in our villages has yet to be seen. And why not?

But wait! Gov. Eloy Inos “has declared a state of emergency as Typhoon Vongfong affects the Commonwealth.” In the governor’s emergency declaration, he said, “It was necessary for the government to identify and mobilize resources in anticipation of the impact and potential damage as a result of the typhoon.”

What’s next? I believe that the flooding in and around Chalan Kanoa, Fina Sisu, As Lito, As Perdido, and Susupe continues to be impacted by torrential rain as a result of Tropical Storm Phanphone and Typhoon Vongfong. Clearly, a declaration of a “state of emergency” is warranted for the areas encompassing Precinct 2.

As I mentioned in the article that was published in this paper last week regarding the flood, the residents who were affected by the flood should and must be able to see remedy in the governor’s emergency declaration for the damage caused to their property and personal belongings as a result of the flood from the lack of adequate infrastructure in the community.

And we have yet to see if the community centers and basketball courts around the community would be a priority number one in the supplemental budget (if any). But it should be included in the emergency declaration, too, as safety is also being compromised at some of the community centers and sports facilities due to dilapidation.

Under the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, funds are available for both youth development programs and cultural engagement programs, which we intend to utilize. Additionally funds have been identified that can be sourced thruough community partnership with local business establishments that have Grant Divisions that encourage and support youth development, man’amko, and community enrichment. And of course there are also federal funds and programs that can be accessed.

Vicente ‘Ben’ Aldan Ichihara
Chalan Kanoa, Saipan