Hafa Adai!
Here’s the link to watch Governor Calvo’s weekly address taped last week – CLICK HERE.
You can also download an audio version of the address attached. – AUDIO
The text of Governor Calvo’s weekly address is below.
Help young Guamanians find positive outlets
By Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo
Hafa Adai my fellow Guamanians,
Last week, Adelup was overflowing with the hope for our future.
Young Guamanian children filled our conference rooms for different proclamation signing ceremonies, including Head Start Awareness Month; Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Month; Red Ribbon Month; and Choose to be G.R.E.A.T. Day. These events brought a flurry of little legs running down the halls of Adelup, arms pumping as toddlers and young children begged their parents for the right to explore this new place.
It was a wonderful sight.
No less wonderful in intent but more somber was the Family Violence Awareness Month proclamation. This event had more law enforcement agency representatives from the local and federal governments, as well as non-profit organizations and private sector representatives.
What all of these events have in common is the education, protection and nurturing of our children so that they can grow up to be healthy and well-read adults who contribute positively to our community. With the help of these programs, our children will avoid the pitfalls of life and reach their greatest potential. In doing so, they’ll be able to propel our island to its greatest potential.
It was the annual Red Ribbon Month proclamation at D.L. Perez Elementary School that kicked off this week’s rush of activities. At the Yigo school, I talked to the children about how education was such an important start to that wonderful future. And I remember when I told them that statistics show that many of the people who are sitting in prison, who got caught up in a life of crime, didn’t graduate from high school.
There was this collective gasp and you could see in their faces this look like, “That’s not going to be me.”
I encourage you all to participate in these programs. Go out and enjoy their activities or ask a teacher for a flier. You can also go on to a website to find tips on talking to your children about the dangers of drugs, of gang violence, and how family violence hurts more than just a spouse or a child but the entire community.
Help young Guamanians find positive outlets for their energy and creativity. There are school sports and academic clubs, after-school or weekend programs like Island Girl Power or a community center, church youth groups, and community sports groups like the Swim Federation or Track and Field Association or the St. Paul’s weekend summer camps. Some of these have monthly costs but others are free. You only need to reach out to a teacher or counselor, mayor’s office or church leaders to get more information.
And let’s do our part to keep our kids living healthy lives so they can grow up to see the best of what life has to offer.
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