“This first event was inspiring and the feedback was tremendous,” says Ghenere of what she thought would be a one-time-only occurrence.

The response from this event was so great that she has since organised and hosted two events.

“God wanted us to expand to be consistent with multiple events, speaking engagements, counseling, motivational sessions, blogs, and apparel; women are to be reminded of their worth,” she says, highlighting that faith is a driving force of her organisation’s mission.

“Women of Elegance was birthed on the vision that it takes a healed heart to relate to a broken heart, helping and motivating women to understand their worth and who they are, with their foundation being Jesus Christ.” She continues, “Looking around in my personal life, I realised there were decisions that women and myself make that are sometimes not positive. The consequences of these decisions contribute to us questioning our worth and cause us to think that we are not in a position to represent or stand out and make a bold difference anymore.” However, it was the realisation that despite these decisions and life paths that she was still worthy enough to represent God and be an example for others that she felt encouraged to empower women everywhere, to help them revisit their worthiness and integrity, and lead them towards “the plan God [has] for their life”.

Ghenere also proposes that Women of Elegance is different than other women’s empowerment movements as it does not only concentrate on one area of empowerment, such as gender equality, feminism, or domestic issues, but also on a woman’s full identity and her personal foundations in life. “We believe that once a woman finds her worth, then her attitude, approach, and application changes in a holistic way affecting her entire life.” Her past three events have all focused on such empowerment. Titled Knowing Your Worth, Purified Beauty, and Royalty, these events have featured guest speakers such as media personality Golda Lee Bruce, former Miss World and Public Affairs and Communications Manager Giselle Laronde West, and entertainer Denise Plummer among others.

“Every event has a title and every title draws on a life lesson. This life lesson then affords me an opportunity to reach out and share with other women.” Her next event, to take place October 1 at Green Meadows, Santa Cruz, will be themed Purposeful Woman. “First, we want women to understand it does not matter how we came to be, what matters is who created us to be; knowing who we are is the beginning of knowing where we are going,” she expands on the event’s subject. She points out that in today’s society, women are at a marked disadvantage in terms of crime, socioeconomic standing, and abuse.

“When a woman goes through a season in her life where her purpose or destiny may have been threatened, the emotional creature that she is sometimes goes into a cocoon and takes a long time to transform,” Ghenere says of what Purposeful Women will address.

The mission of the event, she says, is to share real life experiences and stories with attendees of the journey the guest speakers have been on. Her guest speakers for this event are Debra Jean Baptiste and Sharon Oliver.

“This [sharing of experiences] is needed in our society because once women understand their purpose they will soon be able to allow God to complete what He has started. This will in turn impact their families and lead to impacting our nation,” she shares of her hope for women attending the event.

The core values of Women in Elegance events are to engage women in life changing experiences, maintain a standard of elegance, and seeking comfort in a firm foundation in Christ.

“We envision a world where all women, regardless of position in life, understand that their worth is tied to their identity in Christ,” Ghenere says.

The organisation also stands behind the five components of women’s empowerment: women’s sense of selfworth, their right to have and determine their choices, their right to have access to opportunities and resources, their right to have the power to control their lives, and their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order.

In the future, she hopes to host events outside of Trinidad to expand her organisation’s mission regionally. Her sixth event will be held in Tobago, and she has already made connections with regional organisations in Guyana, Jamaica, and Barbados ahead of her 2018 event goals.

Her final words are those of encouragement and a reminder to women that they are not alone. “As young as I am, I learn from other women and their experiences.

“Remember your worth and remember it’s an everyday challenge to accomplish and maintain your image and integrity.

Do not give up because our life is not our own. I encourage all women: do not forget your women of elegance smile.”

WHEN Crysande Höchst was a child, her parents would beat her because she did not respond when they called and thought she was being disrespectful.

It was not until age six, it was discovered that she was not “harden” but hard of hearing.

Sunday Newsday met Höchst at her company Crysande’s Spa & Make Up Studio in Arouca, a business she has had for 13 years.

Originally from Morvant, Höchst said her family did not realise she was hard of hearing until she was about six years old but before that, “I used to get a lot of licks because they thought I was harden.” When she started school, it was suspected she had a hearing problem and she was sent for a hearing test. It was then discovered that she had perfect hearing in her right ear but no hearing at all in her left ear due to an issue with the nerves–a hearing aid would not assist her.

At her business she has to repeatedly tell her employees to talk into her right ear.

“It is exhausting,” she said.

But because it is her business she is able to control her environment.

Before then, she worked in the corporate sector as a merchandising and promSotions manager and she said it was “quite challenging.” When she applied for one job the company took issue with her being hard of hearing and she was sent for testing. The doctor commented that it was incredible that she was able to speak properly and achieve so much being so profoundly deaf.

“I didn’t think it was anything unusual.

This is just my life.” At that job they decided to merge the sales and marketing departments and put everyone in an open office of 40 people.

“The worst work environment in my life. Everyone sitting at desks, playing radios on different stations, people walking through. I used to feel so stressed out.

I couldn’t cope. That was a nightmare for me.” Höchst said she always had to problem solve her way through things and in that case she decided that, during the day, she would visit supermarkets and at about 6 pm, go to the office to do work. She did that for two and a half years and no one realised why.

But Höchst found the job monotonous and not intellectually challenging.

She always liked make-up and decided to take a make-up course in the evening.

After makeup she learned waxing and she did both part time for two and a half years until she decided to do it full time.

Höchst likes that the job is quiet and she hates noisy things like parties and going to the supermarket so she buys a lot of things online. Going to the mall fills her with “trepidation” because of all the noise.

Höchst said she had a reputation of being a snob because in any public place people would call her and she would not hear them.

She said even some of her staff would think she was ignoring them.

“At least once a day I have to apologise to somebody about that.” She said people feel very hurt about being “ignored.” Höchst writes a newspaper beauty column and she said the downside with fame was that people judge you harshly– including strangers– and they would believe the rumours that she was a “real snob” or an arrogant person.

“I hate going out in public. I have almost become a recluse,” she lamented.

She said that she had to ask people to speak more slowly and to look at her when they spoke. She joked that she should wear a sign that says “talk into my right ear.” Höchst said because of a lack of awareness about the hard of hearing they had to fight for everything and get people to understand or meet them halfway.

She said she was so stressed out when she came home from work that she needed about an hour to “decompress.” Höchst is married and said that, at first, her husband was offended by it but he had come to understand it.

As a child she liked quiet things like reading and she still reads about two books a week and is studying French.

She called for hearing tests for children when they were born.

“Because I was beaten so badly I still have scars. By my father especially. He was really angry. He thought I was ignoring him.” She said that she had no support system growing up and did not attend any special school. She had to learn to cope while relying on her intelligence.

She believes her condition is a blessing from God as it has made her do very well academically and helped her develop a good memory for conversations and reading.

The defending champions are demanding the respect they deserve after maintaining their 100 percent record during the start of the 2017 season. Presentation San Fernando remain the only other team who are undefeated this season as they kept pace with the league leaders by defeating Carapichaima East Secondary 2-1 in Carapichaima.

‘Pres’ are second on the table with 13 points and currently trail the leaders Shiva by two points after the fifth round.

St Augustine Secondary looked as though they would be the third team to keep an unbeaten record after Stephon Eallie beat the Naps’ goalkeeper from the half-line with a fantastic free-kick in the 42nd minute.

The visitors looked comfortable away from home and thought they picked up the three points when Anthony Samuel struck the second for the “Green Machine”, after he got on the end of a cross, in the 63rd.

However, Naps were spurred on by those setbacks as Juda St Louis led a resurgence as he struck a late hattrick to grab all three points.

St Louis’ first goal came in the 76th when he dispossessed a St Augustine player and then followed the play until the ball worked its way back to him, on top of the box, where he smashed it into the back of the net.

Naparima were then awarded a penalty and the midfielder stepped up from the spot and made no mistake for the equaliser in the 80th.

St Louis then completed a Man-of-the- Match performance when he struck a brilliant free-kick, from 30 yards out in the 90th minute, to send the home fans in a frenzy.

In the other SSFL Premier Division matches, Fatima got past QRC 2-0 at the Queen’s Royal College Grounds while St Benedict’s and San Juan North battled to a 1-1 draw at the Mahaica Oval, Point Fortin.

Signal Hill hosted St Mary’s College in Tobago but were defeated 3-2 in their encounter, while Trinity East travelled to Speyside and triumphed 3-0.

The match between St Anthony’s College and Fyzabad Secondary did not play due to a waterlogged field at Westmoorings.

The Ark was founded in 2013 by Simone de la Bastide, wife of former Chief Justice and president of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Michael de la Bastide who is on the organisation’s board. Members include prominent individuals such as Dr Kongsheik Achong Low; Justice Kathy Ann Waterman; Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards; Danny Montano; Vicki Assevero Mottley; Carolyn Hart; April Bermudez; Dhisha Moorjani; Patt Christopher and Simone as president.

They are passionately supported by their patron, President Anthony Carmona. A support group, called Friends of the Ark, comprises people from all walks of life, including doctors, lawyers, housewives, media personnel, managers, judges and others, who volunteer their time and skills to the cause.

As one would imagine, the influence of such a group, working together for such an important goal, is tremendous. They particularly cater to “at risk” youth in high crime prone areas within TT and also support faith and community- based organisations, NGOs, and children’s homes to make a positive difference in the lives of children who would otherwise be lost to neglect, poverty, and the pervasive malaise that threatens our future.

Among their triumphs are the donation of a 30-seat Mitsubishi bus to Goodwill Industries; supply of education material and upgrade to the Each One Teach One early childhood centre in Beetham Gardens in partnership with the army reserve; the provision of a newly constructed home to an impoverished Tabaquite family of seven; and their partnership with the Daren Ganga Foundation and Inter Agency Task Force to hold an eight-month cricket and football coaching clinic in Beetham Gardens. In 2015, the Children’s Ark exerted their considerable clout against child trafficking, with an awareness and prevention anti- trafficking six-month campaign for the purposes of sexual abuse, manual labour, and drug trafficking.

The Children’s Ark. who funded the entire campaign at a cost of approximately $1 million, invited both the Counter Trafficking Unit (Ministry of National Security) and Victims and Witness Support Unit (TT Police Service ) to partner with them on the awareness exercise. The media support was indeed dynamic.

This hard-hitting, six-month advertising campaign drew many an eye and a heart to the problem, with billboards, thousands of anti-trafficking posters featuring children in dire situations, and captions reading, ‘Be aware, don’t be a victim, learn the signs’ and ‘What if this were your child; what would you do?’ The Ark bought several childsized puppets and hosted skits for thousands of children at the nation’s preschools and secondary schools, and distributed anti- trafficking material to over 600 schools, teaching them to recognise the risks.

The highlight of the campaign was the visit of Nepalese activist, Anuradha Koirala, founder of Maiti Nepal, and recipient of 30 inter-nation and national awards to give the feature address on child and human trafficking, at their fundraising event at Hyatt on May 20, 2016.

Koirala and her group have rescued over 29,000 girls and young children from trafficking in Nepal.

Her impassioned address at the luncheon left many in tears.

President Carmona exhorted others to do their part, saying, “It is critical that governments, NGOs and other stakeholders are able to facilitate and accommodate victims of human trafficking who have been rescued.” He echoed Koirala’s assertion that we should all ‘take each child as your daughter’, adding, “This is the message I would like Trinidad and Tobago to understand, appreciate and follow in real terms.” “There is no nobler cause than the one being pursued by the Children’s Ark….There can be no stronger symbol of protection than the ark. The Ark could push society to bear witness to its humanity by our actions rather than our glorious words. I am confident that The Children’s Ark will be the type of NGO that will create a holistic environment that will create a citizen and a patriot that we can all be proud of.” The Children’s Ark recently completed a significant project at the men’s prison on Frederick Street, in partnership with the Prison Service and Debbie Jacob’s Wishing For Wings project.

The Ark demolished 14 old colonial Death Row cells and constructed a library complete with furnishings. Wishing For Wings oversees the reading programme with fathers reading to their children and children reading to their fathers.

They are soon to construct a similar facility at the women’s prison in Arouca.

The Children’s Ark are in the process of relocating and reconstructing a new operating theatre and surgical ward at the Princess Elizabeth Home for handicapped children at an estimated cost of $ 1.1 million.

They are also in the process of supplying the St Dominic’s Home for boys with a vocational training school at their home in Barataria.

The Children’s Ark seeks to partner with established organisations in an effort to make a significant difference in the lives of as many challenged children as possible, through their urgent needs, education and sport.

They are quickly building a ‘brand’, which is a credible, accountable and transparent NGO, that corporations and organisations will continue to invest in through their CSR programmes.

The Children’s Ark is particularly interested in projects that will be of long-term benefit to large numbers of marginalized, at risk youth and challenged children.

The Children’s Ark can be found on Facebook, or at www.thechildrensarktt.

com.

Address: 7 Fitzblackman Drive, Woodbrook Tel: (868) 389-9772.

Feature submitted by The Children’s Ark.

They make my job significantly easier. But what would happen if I didn’t have access to them? Over time, I’ve learnt that necessity really is the mother of invention.

Working with your hands is not only possible, but surprisingly beneficial for doing your makeup.

Your hands are great because they don’t cost you anything and you won’t encounter the stress of having to clean any brushes or sponges. A lack of tools doesn’t have to stop you from doing your makeup. There is, however, a golden rule: Always ensure that your hands are clean before you touch your face.

You can create various effects by using your hands.

Backstage at fashion shows, you see a lot of artists using their hands to apply makeup to models. This is because their hands are readily available and can melt products into skin for the perfect “no-makeup” makeup.

Usually, you use your hands to apply moisturiser and primer, so why not use your hands for the rest of your face makeup? Since your fingers won’t absorb product, you’ll find that you can use less product and achieve more coverage.

When it comes to concealer, you should apply it using patting motions to spread and blend it seamlessly.

I like to apply cream blush using my thumbs since they are the perfect size to deposit and blend the right amount of colour on the cheeks; the luminosity from the blush also creates a naturally radiant finish. Liquid and cream highlight also melt right into the skin when applied with fingers.

Using your index and middle fingers together, tap the highlight onto the high points of your face like the cheekbones, forehead, down the bridge of the nose, the cupid’s bow and the chin, for a litfrom- within glow.

If your eyeshadow doesn’t usually apply well with a brush, try applying it with your fingers.

A patchy finish is common with some frosty, shimmery, glittery or textured eyeshadows. Pat the color on to deposit it, then swipe your finger back and forth to crush and spread the pigments for a more foil-like finish. You will get a more concentrated application with your finger and thus, better colour payoff. In the same manner that you’d use a brush or a cotton bud to smudge eyeliner, you can use your little finger to blur it and create a smoky, smoldering effect.

Lastly, y o u c a n create a lip stain by dotting lipstick onto your lips and using your index finger to blot the color and spread it out for a sheer, flushed effect.

This is especially great if you have a colour that is too dark, bright or unwearable. For example, you can create a subtle berry stain from a vampy, wine red lipstick.

Some creamy products work best on normal or dry skin, so what should you do if you have oily skin? Unless you keep your brushes separate, the dusty, dirty brush at the bottom of your makeup bag should not touch your face. If you’re careful, you can use the sponge that comes with a powder compact to blot and mattify your skin.

Use it sparingly because the sponge can really pack the powder on, which will create a cakey appearance. If you don’t have a compact, then blotting papers or tissue paper will lift away any excess moisture, leaving you with a semi-matte finish. If you favour an eco-friendlier option, a reusable blotting sponge such as a blotterazzi by Beautyblender will remove excess oil and freshen the appearance of your makeup.

The question of the end of the world arises not so much because of the actual published prediction that the earth would be destroyed by a planet called Nibiru, but by things that are happening for real, right now.

With the current plague of natural disasters, it’s enough to make the most level-headed of us feel a bit paranoid. It is easy to see why, in less developed societies, such things are seen as demonstrations of anger by whoever or whatever people regard as being in charge.

Look out: it’s a thunder storm; we must have done something wrong and we’re being punished for it (even though a thunder storm is little more than a slap on the wrist unless you get struck by lightning).

In primitive communities, such castigations are ascribed to a god of some sort, and what distinguishes us in the developed world in the wonderful, all-knowing 21st century from these less educated groups is that here there is some dispute about the very existence of God. The ancients didn’t–and the remotes don’t–have access to scientific research that could be adapted to suit their own fears and theories, so they believed what their elders believed, just as devotees of the Bible and the Qu’ran can point to passages contained in them that indicate right and wrong or foretell disaster.

While TT is luckier than most Caribbean countries in that hurricanes usually start just in front of us and head the other way, even those who choose to interpret weather events as divine retribution must admit that whoever is dishing out the punishment is hugely biased.

Why should a nation in which murder and rape are on the front pages every day get away with it? Why should Irma wipe out peaceful, harmless little Barbuda and spare the gun-toting morons who make TT ’s streets such nervous places? And as for earthquakes, such as the ones that have just killed hundreds of people in Mexico, are they also supernatural beatings handed out to the bad guys? In which case, what has Italy done to warrant the quakes that have plagued it in recent years? Is pizza really that bad for the world, or is it just the stuffed crusts and the anchovies? Perhaps the point is that we, the human race, have to be self-policing at an individual level.

In other words we each have it within ourselves to be good citizens and whatever we may feel about our reward being in heaven, or that karma will sort us out later, it’s up to us to clean up our act here and now, just in case.

That doesn’t mean abandoning religion because it causes trouble, which is a fashionable point of view. That would be like banning football because there is occasionally trouble at a match.

It doesn’t even mean finding some way of getting everyone of a religious persuasion to worship the same god. That would just be insulting to the intelligence of the billions of people whose beliefs cannot be scientifically proven (nor disproven) but who go about their lives in peace, minding their own business.

This is not the first time our communal demise has been predicted.

It is, after all, the sort of thing that great wise men are supposed to know. If you’re going to be accepted as a fount of wisdom, you’ve got to have a few facts at your fingertips, such as what time is closing time.

In 1524 many people fled their homes in London and headed for the hills after a prediction by astrologers that the end of the world would start with the flooding of the city. When that didn’t happen the theorists revised their estimation, adding 100 years (a suspiciously round figure, don’t you think?), but guess what – it didn’t happen in 1624 either.

The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, as used by the much-respected Mayan civilisation which peaked in Central America between 250 and 900 AD, pinpointed December 21 2012 as lights-out time, resulting in huge queues at Penny Savers when people who didn’t expect to see another Christmas realised they were going to need to get some beer and ham in after all.So all together now: p h e w ! Isn’t it g r e a t t h a t there are s o m e t h i n g s we don’t know?

In assisting him in writing his autobiography, I recall how it pained him that although we had made some progress, we were not living up to our republican Constitution’s fundamental principles.

I am also concerned that we continue to act like ostriches and ignore the need, eg, for constitutional reform; to deal with our failing institutions; to develop effective plans/strategies/policies to address crime and violence, including corruption which diverts resources from the people.

The family is the bedrock of our society. We need to strengthen family life. Strong families build strong communities which, in turn, will build a strong nation.

Sadly, though, while many of those in TT ’s prisons may come from broken homes, one-parent or dysfunctional families etc, many of our white-collar criminals come from privileged backgrounds and have no qualms about stealing from that which belongs to the people of TT .

While more than 500 student nurses are protesting because they have not been receiving their monthly stipend of $800 for more than a year, citizens are aghast at the alleged acts of corruption in the country. “Fighting corruption is not just good governance, it’s self-defence. It’s patriotism,” (Joe Biden).

Are we moving away from the values that our parents tried to inculcate in us? Murder and mayhem continue apace in TT . We are indisciplined in so many ways. A few minutes of rain leads to floods in key parts of TT , partly due to our own actions.

As a republican State, power rests in us, the citizens. We must act responsibly.

We elect representatives whom we hope will be visionary, competent, and courageous; who will learn how to work across party lines to build the common good, creating conditions which will “enable individuals, families and organisations to achieve complete and effective fulfilment” (Pope St John XXIII). If TT is to progress, we need to ensure that people are at the centre of development.

After 41 years, there are too many on the margins of our society; too many who don’t have basic amenities. We need an overhaul of all our systems — healthcare, education, social services etc. And, as we engage in the Budget-making process for 2017-2018, let us not forget that effective diversification takes years.

Although we know that we can no longer rely on oil and gas to fill our coffers, we are not taking urgent steps to diversify. Effective diversification takes years. We have a yoke of growing debt around our necks because of years of Budget deficits. We continue to use the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund for recurrent expenditure. This is a recipe for disaster.

In June, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had discussions with Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s executive secretary, who stated that there was a need for the English-speaking Caribbean island states to reduce their debts.

No knight in shining armour is coming to our aid. Let’s “band our own belly” before the IMF is called in.

In spite of our social ills, remember Dr Abdul Kalam’s (former president of India) words: “We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.”

LEELA RAMDEEN chair, Catholic Commission for Social Justice

It is alleged harsh words were exchanged between the 40-yearold John, who featured for the entire match, and the Stars players, during the one-sided contest which ended 6-0 in favour of North East Stars. Central FC, who completed a historic three-peat of league titles last season, are currently languishing in the standings and looking unlikely to make it four in a row.

Ironically, John is also an assistant coach with the Trinidad and Tobago team, while national coach Dennis Lawrence looked on in the stands.

According to a Stars player, who requested anonymity, John should permanently hang up his boots instead of trading barbs on the field with this country’s professional footballers.

“I thought it was very distasteful. There is always banter within football.

Banter amongst the players is one thing but when you have the position as the assistant coach of the national team, and a head coach (of a club team), it would come across a lot different.

“I was a member of Central FC previously. I don’t know him personally but I think that the remarks were uncalled for, coming from a person of his stature. It was definitely uncalled for, banter or not.” About the all-time TT record goal-scorer (70 goals from 115 internationals), the player stated, “You are past your career. Your playing days are over.

“Nobody said you (were) not a good player.

You were a good player. But now is time for the younger players because it’s their generation, their time to shine to make something of themselves, so they can now move (forward).” North East Stars coach Derek King, when contacted yesterday, pointed out, “As a coach, I would never disrespect (any) coach in the League or disrespect any player. At the end of the day we (need), as coaches and club owners, to build Trinidad and Tobago football.

“It’s not about us. It’s about building Trinidad and Tobago football to take it to the next level.

We’re here to support, we’re the feeder for the national set-up. We should be as one, all the coaches,” ended King, the former TT defender and assistant coach.

Efforts to contact Brent Sancho, owner of North East Stars, proved futile.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia is offering to make spaces available to Dominican students displaced by Maria. The offer no doubt would require entire families to be relocated, hence Rowley’s call for us to open our doors, our homes and our pots to them.

I am sure our esteemed leader may also consider housing these displaced citizens of Dominica in the many underutilised structures in Trinidad, like the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.

And who would argue that the perfect place to accommodate our unfortunate neighbours, because of the available amenities like beds, catering and medical services, is the Couva Children’s Hospital?

THELMA JOSEPH La Brea

Terms and expressions which once formed the cornerstone of Christian identity are but a faint echo and, in some cases, there is nothing at all. So too is the expression “becoming missionary disciples”– the theme of the, almost concluded, Catechetical Month (September). The word “disciple” may still evoke some resonance but hardly the word “missionary.” This should not surprise us since the last available census (2011) puts those who are not into institutional religion at 13.3 per cent–a relatively large figure. Add to that the high percentage of nominal Catholics, ie who have had little or no faith formation, and we could be heading in the direction of a tabula rasa when it comes to Catholic identity.

Yet the very survival of the Catholic faith, not only as a religion but as a social force demands the renewal of these terms in ways that would resonate with the post-modern generation immersed as they are in a digital world.

At the heart of the word “missionary” is the notion of “witness.” A Christian is a witness. This has both a doctrinal and moral component. We are witnesses to someone, ie Jesus Christ, in a world which wants to hear His name less and less in the public square. But we are also witnesses to a moral order founded on his name–Christian ethics. When the moral order has significantly collapsed in a country that is 6305 per cent Christian, and 86.7 per cent religious (belonging to a religious institution) we are looking at a grave failure of religion.

Religion itself is too mired in puerile “devotionalism” which will not generate a renewal of the moral order. Placing national flags, banners, bunting etc in various parts of the national landscape stretching from Independence to Republic Day has its place but will not, by itself, generate nationalism in a country that refuses to sing the words of its own anthem at high-level state functions at which the President and Prime Minister are present.

Nor does it naturally arise among so many who see nothing wrong in hunting animals to extinction, including the Scarlet Ibis; nor among the majority of the population who have resigned into accepting that Tobago will never have a reliable ferry service despite past budgets as grandiose as 70 billion.

What is killing our country is human selfishness with money as the number one diadem in the crown of greed. There needs to be, as we celebrate our republican anniversary, a less urgent sense of charity and a greater desire for justice and equity; a need for the class consciousness that dominated the years before and shortly after Independence.

We need to focus on neglected communities and community development, employ more social workers to our schools, encourage thrift at all levels, reduce pollution and care for the environment.

We need to rebuild a strong moral framework whose soul emerges from the best practices of religion