Skip to main content

Aumua Announces $98,082 Funding for LBJ & Local Boys and Girls Club

July 6, 2015

Washington, D.C. – Monday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata, "I am pleased to announce the awarding of $98,082 in grant funding from the Department of the Interior for our islands," said Amata. "These funds will serve to bolster youth programs and assist in the training of key medical personnel, which will help alleviate the dire shortage of qualified medical technicians we have on the islands," continued Amata.

Image
Congresswoman Aumua Amata and Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Esther Kia'aina

Congresswoman Aumua Amata and Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Esther Kia'aina

The following grants have been funded through the Office of Insular Affairs' Technical Assistance Program:

Boys and Girls Club (American Samoa) - $50,000 to support the American Samoa Youth Climate Change Initiative to create public awareness on the impact of climate change and promote education and advocacy amongst American Samoa's youth. The goal is to educate youth about climate change issues using methods that increase their knowledge and skills in the subject matter, and to develop an educational marketing tool through popular social networking strategies. The group would like to serve as an online resource center on climate change issues for students in American Samoa and the Pacific region.

LBJ Tropical Medical Center Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technicians Training (American Samoa) - $48,082 to support training for technicians at the LBJ Tropical Medical Center. Staff members within the End Stage Renal Disease Unit (ESRD) will become certified clinical hemodialysis technicians. The ESRD unit is expanding from 21 to 37 beds, which requires a higher number of staff to be certified technicians, in order to ensure quality care for the patients while receiving dialysis.

"I want to thank Assistant Secretary Esther Kia'aina and the Department of the Interior for their foresight in awarding this critical funding," stated Amata. "I also want to thank those individuals at both the Boys and Girls Club of American Samoa and the LBJ Tropical Medical Center who submitted what have been referred to as "quality and innovative" proposals that stood out amongst the large number of applications for this funding. It is more proof of the hard work that members of our community do every day to improve the lives of our people," concluded Amata.

# # #