Courtship of Yap by various foreign powers continues
Architectural rendering of Colonia Wellness Center
(Yap State Office of Planning & Budget)
Colonia, Yap-- The State of Yap was the recipient of three grants from Japan at a signing ceremony held at Yap State Hospital on Mar. 1. Ryoichi Horie, Ambassador of Japan in the FSM, and Yap Gov. Tony Ganngiyan formally co-signed contracts providing a total of more than $$255,802 from the Japanese Grassroots Grant Program to support projects for the Yap Department of Health Services, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Education.
The Department of Health Services received $90,000 to build the Colonia Wellness Center, a multi-partner effort to fight the rapid rise of non-communicable diseases in the state. The centrally located center will provide fitness equipment and classes, personalized health plans, education and group support programs to ensure that individuals’ whole health is addressed. Nominal membership fees and employee wellness program sponsorships as well as NCD program funding and external assistance will provide funding for the activities and building utilities. The goal is to open the center in 2019.
A glass crusher that will crush glass beverage bottles to small, sand-size particles for reuse, and training in its use for Yap’s Recycling Operator and staff, are among the items being supported by a grant of $85,482 for the EPA. A five-ton forklift for safe transport, moving and containerizing of recycling materials is also included in the grant. This is the third grant that the EPA and its partners have received to support solid waste management improvement activities, noted Amb. Horie. “It is not easy to convince Tokyo to give a third grant to the same facility,” he said. “But I am always impressed by Yap’s clean environment. Yap is the most advanced among the four FSM states in environmental protection and we want to show everyone what a good example it is.” The grant supports Yap’s J-PRISM II Project activities that focus on the disposal of difficult and bulky waste including used oil and tires, white goods and e-waste.
Rumuu Elementary School will benefit from a grant of $80,320 awarded to the Department of Education for a fence to be constructed around the perimeter of the school that will provide safer and more secure grounds for the students. The school intends to use the enclosure to encourage more outdoor activities by creating a vehicle-free zone and a healthy green space for the children during the school day while preventing after-hours access and damage.
Governor Ganngiyan thanked the ambassador for the grants by stating, “I want to pay tribute to you and express our utmost appreciation to you and your staff for your support. We are honored to host you today.”