With the whole world wondering how they will care for themselves, because of shortages of certain essential commodities, as well as rising costs, maybe this is the time to put our young brains and minds to work, to secure as well as come up with ideas of how to create from what we have, and ensure that as a country we can do for ourselves.
I suggest that Students island-wide should be engaged in activities and find creative ways to develop new product lines that can satisfy our domestic needs.
Qualified persons should also be looking to break new grounds to make us as self-sufficient as possible. Recently, I attended a Banana Festival in the City and was amazed at the variety of products that can be made from our bananas and I am sure that there are other fruits and vegetables that can be used to create new recipes that can be accepted on our shelves.
Our dependency on imports needs to change, we need to understand what is going on worldwide, and must make an effort to help ourselves.
If not, the price hikes and scarcity of certain commodities will stifle our growth.
There are so many unemployed persons looking for something to do to earn a living, hence the reason I think that the time is ripe and this situation should be a warning and a good reason for them to do something worthwhile with their time.
It is time to put on our thinking caps and do for ourselves, what no one will do for us. As a public, we too need to be more appreciative of things local providing the prices are not prohibitive.
We have to start to believe in ourselves, we have to change our mindset into accepting that not only imported goods are of Standard quality.
For each and all the cornflakes and cereals and junk foods that we buy there are alternative local products that can be substituted.
We have to revisit our school curriculum, think academically but also think creatively, and we also need those with the capacity to invest to assist in that process, because if we don’t the future will be grim and the masses will suffer and the plight of not having will continue.
What we need is the support from all relevant sources, meaning the Government, the schools, the commercial sector and some people with good will, and brave citizens.
We have to live. We cannot just lie down and die. If we do not help each other, it will be our downfall and no one should be blamed for our predicament.
I hope that we all see the writing on the wall and do what must be done to keep our people alive. We always boast about how educated we are, so it is time to put that education to good use, make our mark and save us from ourselves, because we really need to.
Too often we find reason to lay blame and criticize, but do nothing ourselves to contribute. Times are changing and self-help to me is the best policy. Those who have are keeping what they have for themselves, but don’t you think that it is time for us to care about ourselves and by extension our countrymen?
We all have to put our shoulders to the wheel because if we don’t we will all become victims of our inactiveness, depending on the outside world for everything, which will keep us always in need.