Interior Announces $151,550 in CARES Act Funding for Mañe’lu

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, Douglas W. Domenech today announced that the Department of the Interior has provided Mañe’lu, a non-profit organization located on Guam, with $151,550 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act emergency relief funding available through the Office of Insular Affairs Technical Assistance Program to prepare, prevent, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mañe’lu will use this funding to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate information, assistance, and workshops during and after the pandemic to communities on Guam.

“The Secretary and I are pleased to be able to provide funding support to the non-profit organization Mañe’lu on Guam utilizing CARES Act funding,” said Assistant Secretary Domenech. Mañe’lu, a Micronesian Resource Center One Stop Shop, provides important services to support Micronesian communities on Guam, which is crucial during this unprecedented worldwide pandemic. Collective and collaborative efforts among government, non-government, and local communities are necessary to keep communities on Guam strong.”

With this funding, Mañe’lu proposes to support Guam’s local and migrant communities by providing culturally and linguistically appropriate information, assistance, and workshops during and after the pandemic through their Informed Island project. The project will work with Micronesian families to keep them informed, aware, and safe during the pandemic and help retrain and prepare those who have lost employment due to COVID-19, to re-enter the workforce. For more information about the services that Mañe’lu provides to communities on Guam, visit the website https://manelu.org/.

For more information about CARES Act funding that has been provided to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs to benefit the territories and the Freely Associated States (FAS) visit https://www.doi.gov/oia/financial-assistance. For more information about other Federal support to the territories and the FAS during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit www.doi.gov/oia/covid19.

The Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, and the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, OIA administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

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