H Å FA ADAI E VERYDAY | JANUARY 2020 | Volume 17, Issue No. 8
Businesses Take the Håfa Adai Pledge 
to Prepare for the New Year 
Four local businesses took the Håfa Adai Pledge on Dec. 30 at the last pledge event of the decade. From left: Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) Cultural Heritage Officer, Dee Hernandez; GVB Director of Tourism Research, Nico Fujikawa; FAScare Guam, LLC Founder, Nick Garrido; Learning CHamoru Online Founder, Gerhard Schwab; Reliance Testing Drug Facilitator, Manny Lujan; JTM Benchrest Co-owner, Tonya Babauta; GVB President & CEO, Pilar Laguaña; GVB Vice President, Bobby Alvarez; and GVB Director of Finance & Administration, Josie Villanueva.

Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) welcomed and congratulated four local businesses as the newest members of the Håfa Adai Pledge program. This marked the the last Håfa Adai Pledge ceremony for pledge signers in 2019.

The ceremony ended with a special in-kind donation from FAScare Guam, LLC to the Guam Visitors Bureau’s Visitor Safety Officer Program of 10 CPR pocket masks in appreciation for all those who strive to make Guam a better place to live, work, and visit!
UOG Press upholds pledge through donation
of 8,000 children's books
University of Guam (UOG) Press Managing Editor, Victoria Leon Guerrero, along with Chief Hurao Academy President, Angelana Sablan, and representatives from the University of Guam present donation of books to Chief Hurao Academy students.
This month, we shine light on the efforts of Håfa Adai Pledge member, The University of Guam (UOG) Press. The UOG Press, in partnership with Håfa Adai Printing, celebrated this past holiday season in a very special way with a donation of 8,000 books total to school children around the island. Students from the Chief Hurao Academy and the first CHamoru immersion pilot kindergarten program at P.C. Elementary School were among those who received the donated books published by Taiguini Books.

The UOG Press joined the Håfa Adai Pledge back in August 2019 pledging to "continue to promote literacy and CHamoru culture in our community" and "raise awareness of our unique history, environment, peoples, cultures, and languages with our books and events." We commend UOG Press for upholding their pledges and encourage other Håfa Adai Pledge members to mirror their example throughout this new year.

The books that were donated include:
“Si Pedro yan i Hilét Oru na Ko’ko’ (Pedro and the Golden Ko’ko’)” by Lance Osborn
“Ma Guaiya Yu’, si Nåna yan si Tåta (Grandma and Grandpa Love Me)” by Simone and Dana Bollinger
“Guaiyayon na Trongkon Mansanita (The Loveable Mansanita Tree)” by Dolores Camacho
“I Malingu na Påtgon (The Lost Child)” by Rufina Mendiola

The books are part of an effort of UOG’s SNAP-Ed to encourage healthy living curriculum in schools by providing educational materials that enable conversations around culturally relevant food-related traditions, experiences, role-modeling, and family relationships. Si yu'os ma'åse' to UOG Press for actively aiding in our common goal to make Guam a better place to live, work, and visit!


HISTORY DELEGATION OF GUAM PODCAST :
STROLLING AROUND GUAM

The History Delegation of Guam has created these podcast playlists for our island community and visitors to learn more about historical and cultural sites in Guam. Download and play as you stroll through the featured villages of Hagåtña!
Lise Fernandez warmly welcomes all to the Hyatt Regency Guam making guests and locals feel comfortable by referring herself to them as "Mama Lise." She has been an employee with the hotel for over 24 years and is presently the Sous Chef at Hyatt's Employee Restaurant.

Mama Lise showcases the Håfa Adai Spirit through her passion for cooking, storytelling, and making everyone around her feel included. Mama Lise takes pride in the dishes she prepares and ensures that her meals appeal to all the different ethnicities of the hotel workers. Mama Lise understands that Guam is a melting pot that is better and stronger when others feel uplifted. She knows there is no better way to facilitate that through her talent in cooking.

Her positive and caring nature is known by all who come across her. Fernandez goes the extra mile by using her spare time to sit and have conversations, give advice or share a story with the others. Mama Lise, a traditional weaver and teacher, learned to weave by watching elders when she first moved to Guam in 1979. She has used her skills to become an in-house weaver preparing mwar-mwars and woven fruit baskets for VIPs. She shares the culture through conducting weaving lessons with guests and locals in the lobby.

The Guam Visitors Bureau sees this new year as an opportunity for the island to work together to eliminate violence, vandalism, littering and pollution. This is a chance for us to strengthen our island pride and positivity through our celebrating the diversity of Guam, reflecting on our cultural values, and following the examples set forth by figures such as Lise Fernandez.
Check them out for this week's Tourism Works profile with owner, Lenny Fejeran ! It's always a good time for kadu, and the Kadu Restaurant is ready to serve you in any sort of island weather!
CHamoru Phrase of the Month!