Category: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

HELLO, my name is Greg and I am an alcoholic.

I have said this statement in many meetings that I attend to address a problem I face daily. I am thankful I have not hit rock bottom as many of “Bill’s friends” are prone to do, but there are still incidents that I regret. I am not a violent drunk, and I do not bring domestic violence into our home. The problem I do face is the fact that I become absolutely useless after certain days of over imbibing. As a result, my children are affected by a certain degree of neglect. I am unable to help them with their school work, cook food or play games with them. They are not alone.

Continue reading “It’s really about our children”

By GREG BORJA
NMPASI Projects Specialist

When it comes to a holistic approach to wellness, as defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Eight Dimensions of Wellness, we may at times neglect our psychological or mental/emotional wellbeing. This is largely due to factors like stigma or an embarrassment we may feel when admitting we need help for our mental health.

Continue reading “Maintaining the balance”

WITH the New Year just around the corner, it comes with promises we make to ourselves to improve our lives.

It is with that idea in mind that January is National Healthy Weight Awareness Month and we should all know the Importance of Physical Fitness. Our islands have seen an increase in Non-Communicable Diseases or NCDs, especially among our youth. NCDs were responsible 60 percent of deaths in the CNMI in 2005.
Continue reading “A New Year’s resolution”

SINCE 2008 or thereabouts there was a movement in America to eliminate the use of the word “retarded” as it is a hurtful and degrading word.

Since I was in grade school, the word was used around me almost daily. It was used to humiliate the struggling students. It was used to bring down those who stood out. It was used to belittle anyone who was different.

Continue reading “Stop the ‘R’ word”

WE the people of Micronesia, have a long legacy of strong men who charm, memorialize, and lead the rest of us to better things. One such individual was the late David Kapileo Peter a.k.a. “Taulamwaar.”

I call him uncle, and will always remember how he talked about making the CNMI a hub for travel in the Pacific. He had great ideas that were sound and simple to a degree. He was ambitious about promoting Saipan and the CNMI into a stronger economic state than what it was or is now. He spoke about how, we, people of minority do not have to sit quietly while others run the show. These are our islands, and its future should be in our hands.

Continue reading “David Kapileo Peter ‘Taulamwaar’”

RECENTLY my granddaughter pointed to a person walking along the road and said with disgust, “That person is an ice-head.” I asked what made her think that. Did she talk to the person? And she replied, “No, but that’s what everybody says.”
Continue reading “Oct 23 2015: Mental illness. JEANNE H. RAYPHAND”

October was proclaimed Behavioral Health Awareness Month and on Oct. 10, 2015, it was celebrated as World Mental Health Day. This year the theme of is “Dignity.” Webster’s defines dignity as “the quality of being worthy of honor or respect.”
Continue reading “Oct 22 2015: With dignity. Greg Borja”

JUNE 2015 is National Student Safety Month.

This is a time in which we look at the overall safety of our students when it comes to planning for natural disasters, technology, infrastructure, man-made disasters, biological awareness, physical well-being, and student culture and climate. We must also take into consideration our students with disabilities when developing our plans to address these areas. Continue reading “June 17 2015: Student Safety First. GREG BORJA”

WHEN I first arrived on Saipan in 1991, and found out about ice or methamphetamines. I was surprised that it cost so much, maybe a hundred dollars for ice the size of a grain of rice, according to someone who tried, but failed to sell it to me. Continue reading “June 16 2015: Ice has no place in our paradise. Thomas M. Thornburgh”

SOME years ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a graphic novel, “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse,” providing tips to survive a zombie invasion as a “fun new way of teaching the importance of emergency preparedness.” Continue reading “May 08 2015: Icehole Zombies. Jim Rayphand”