AOGA SAMOA I AFIO’AGA PROGRAM CLOSES

The Aoga Samoa I Afio’aga (ASIA) summer program, sanctioned by the American Samoa Department of Education in collaboration with several ministers and their wives from the Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa, officially ended last week. Closing ceremonies were held at each one of the numerous ASIA centers across the territory.

Hundreds of youngsters from around the island took part in the five-week program that aims to teach students how to read, write, and solve mathematical problems in the Samoan language.

Several ministers who spoke to Samoa News have expressed their gratification with the end results.

At the beginning of the summer session, students were required to take a pre-test to determine where they are, as far as reading and writing in Samoan. At the end of the program, a post test was also administered to determine if there had been any progress.

The majority of ministers and teachers reported that the results are favorable, with students knowing more now than they did when the program first started. It is expected that the ASIA will be offered once again next summer, with a higher enrollment, as the program continues to gain popularity since it was first offered two years ago.

S.I.S. CONFERENCE

The Great Life United Church officially launched the registration period for the upcoming Sisters Imparting Strength (SIS) conference, scheduled to be held at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium in Utulei on August 20-21.

Registration was carried out this past Saturday at the Laufou Shopping Center and Cost-U-Less.

The goal of the two-day event, according to Pastor David Katina, is to draw females 13 years old and older, to come together to hear presentations by other women and guest speakers both local and from off island, and to raise awareness “from the Biblical side” about the role of women in society.

Katina told reporters that the SIS conference is to help empower women, so their voices will be heard.

FAGAITUA CLEAN UP

Two weeks ago, the Vikings football team conducted a Clean-A-Thon from Tula to Aua, where they mowed grass, picked up trash, and disposed of debris along the roadside. This past week, the Governor’s Office and all its line agencies, including the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office (ASHPO) and Vocational Rehabilitation, as well as teens from the Summer Youth Employment Program, carried out a clean-up of the Faga’itua High School campus.

The clean-up netted dozens of trash bags full of trash and freshly cut grass.

The project was carried out as part of the Governor’s Adopt-a-School Initiative, in which different government departments and agencies ‘adopt a school’ by cleaning up, painting, landscaping, and freshening up different school campuses that are assigned to them.

The project was launched two years ago after the start of the school year was delayed for nearly a month because the Department of Health found major health issues, including unsanitary conditions on school campuses across the territory.

LOCAL FISHERIES CATCH INCREASES BY 60,000 LBS FOR 2014

Close to 60,000 more pounds of fish were reportedly caught in 2014, compared to a year earlier. This is according to a powerpoint presentation by Mac Aveina, during the 2nd Seafood Vendors’ Forum which was held last week at Toa Bar and Grill and co-hosted by the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR) and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC). See separate story for full details.

Under local law, seafood dealers can be fined if they fail to turn in commercial fish and shellfish receipts to the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources.

According to Aveina, during January to December 2013, a total of 86,344.42 pounds of fish were caught, with a total value of $209,495.

The following year in 2014, the DMWR receipts reflect a total of 146,125.30 pounds of fish, with a total value of over $355,000 - an increase of nearly $146,000 over a period of one year.

Between August 2014 and February 2015, a total of 87,054.95 pounds of fish were caught, with a total value of more than $211,000.

Data collected between March and July 2015 is currently being updated and a quarterly summary will be available for that time period sometime later this week.