As a country we have an incredible combination of human, social, cultural and economic capital and we must continue to find ways to harness these resources to forge a nation and society of which we can all be proud.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of our student population are oblivious to the concept of our country having to fight to gain independence from a colonial power. This is reflected in the indifference with which the day is treated. It is a direct result of a generation growing up without a sense of national history, without which it is quite easy for young people to be devoid of any sense of patriotic pride.

While in most of the nation’s schools it is mandatory for the national anthem to be sung and the national pledge recited on a daily basis, this is hardly enough to instil the level of national pride we would like to see in citizens.

Our nation is in urgent need of citizens who are willing to place country before self. The level of social degradation we are witnessing can be attributed in large measure to our individual and collective sense of selfishness.

The Government’s patriotism initiative is a welcome one in that regard.

Again it is worth pointing out that patriotism is instilled through a variety of ways and should not be left up to the school alone. This must begin in the home from a tender age. The efforts of the family and other institutions in society can then complement the work that goes on in school.

As such, this patriotism will be displayed in many tangible ways — from the way we keep our environment to the extent to which we tolerate corruption and white-collar crime. Collectively, we have displayed a history of becoming very patriotic whenever citizens achieve outstanding success on the global stage but that soon fizzles away until another national hero comes along. This part-time love of country is hardly enough to build a culture of patriotism.

At schools, homes and places of worship children must be taught, through example, that selfishness and greed are traits that are inimical to the creation of a fair and just society. Our national watchwords must serve as a moral compass to all citizens and we must constantly remind our children of this.

They must develop that sense of passion and desire to make their country proud in everything that they do. Teachers, notwithstanding the constraints of the taught curriculum, must endeavour to instil that sense of patriotism and national pride via the hidden curriculum.

Unfortunately, teachers can only teach these concepts if they themselves are endowed with such feelings. It is therefore incumbent upon teachers to enamour themselves with a firm sense of nationalistic pride so that they can discharge their social responsibility to society with a sense of diligence and honour.

Our schools must be beacons of patriotism and provide children with living examples of the principles upon which our quest for independence was pursued and attained.

Notwithstanding the divisiveness that is often preached by elements of the society with political, sectoral and personal interests, our children must be taught to transcend those messages and rise to the challenge of creating a nation that can fulfil the hopes and dreams of all citizens.

Happy independence from the teachers of our nation!

“The Government must consider an economic recovery and reconstruction plan to be incorporated into the upcoming budget which will provide support for businesses threatened by the current recessionary conditions.” He said with businesses unable to meet their loan and mortgage payments, Government could not be a silent spectator to their plight.

“The Government must intervene with support mechanisms to save small to medium size businesses in particular, as the failure of businesses at this level and their closing down can have serious social impacts in this society.

“The loss of businesses built up over several years and which would have contributed to economic activity, employment, revenue through taxes etcetera, must be avoided as it can also seriously impact upon entrepreneurial activity.” Rambachan urged the Government to help stem any further dwindling of the middle class who were important for economic recovery and growth.

He said, “The situation is not irretrievable but requires firm and quick decision-making and a formula for recovery which includes wealth-sharing strategies through encouraging competitiveness and higher productivity.

“A real cultural revolution is required nationally.”

The bandit escaped in a waiting silver Nissan X-trail van which, police identified as stolen, was later found abandoned in Gopaul Lands, Marabella. Police believe the businessman was followed to the bank. According to a police report, at about 7.57 am yesterday, the bandit walked up to the victim, put the gun to his (businessman) head and ordered him to hand over the bag. As he was leaving, he snatched a handbag containing $3,000 from a woman who, along with others in line, had been ordered to lie on the ground while the robbery was being committed.

Investigators believe the businessman, whose pharmacy is on the outskirts of San Fernando, was the main target. Police said the businessman is thankful his life had been spared. However, the incident left other customers shaken.

Marabella police are investigating.

It calls for the Public Procurement Act to be operationalised.

If there is evidence of wrongdoing to support the statements by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, the TTTI said, “Those involved must be held to account in accordance with the law.” TTTI said it was very much concerned about the inter-island ferry service matter and especially so, given Rowley’s recent reported statements on the issue.

Based on earlier reports, the TTTI said, it appeared that a process had been followed and the outcome “and perhaps quality of same, was the issue.” Rowley’s statements, as reported, the TTTI said, “have, however, opened up questions about the process and perhaps those involved.

The multiple investigations now underway will hopefully provide the answers to the issues that have arisen.” Noting “the issues, concerns, controversies regarding the procurement of the vessels that have arisen in the absence of functional modern procurement legislation,” the TTTI said, “the Public Procurement Act must be operationalised with urgency so as to rebuild public confidence in state expenditure and place accountability on those responsible for public funds.”

It was always a great pleasure for me to appear before these two judges in my early days of practice. They wore lightly their cloak of judiciary, yet enjoyed the respect of all.

They both recognised that their entitlement to be addressed as “Milud” did not confer on them near divinity, as in their interactions with subordinates they acknowledged a shared humanity. Both loved to chat, and though this annoyed some practitioners, I thought it made bearable the rigours of practice.

Maharaj was as passionate about family law as I am. He often took the opportunity to ask my opinion on some family law point or refer me to some judgment in family law that I should review.

His judgments were thorough.

His fatherly pride in his three sons in law was no secret.

He was always very polite, pleasant and exceedingly patient.

He truly made the practice of law a joy.

Who can forget Narine’s sense of humour? One day I walked into the Appeal Chamber Court and he informed me that he was not pleased with me. I was genuinely puzzled, as I knew all my documents were in order. As he saw my confusion he proceeded to ask me how I could get married and not invite him.

On another occasion, I was vigorously arguing a point when he said to me that he thought I would have cooled down after my marriage. I remember once when I was awaiting a judgment from him and we met socially.

As I approached him, anticipating I might ask him about it, he immediately placed an index finger on his lips. He certainly knew how to take the wind out of my sails.

I recall when applying for leave for a writ of habeas corpus involving a child. He engaged our client, a Nicaraguan of Chinese descent, resident in San Francisco, about her lineage.

I did not see any point in his questions, but in retrospect realised that it served to calm our client, who had been extremely anxious about her matter.

His interests were wide -ranging, making him an excellent conversationalist. He could see humour in any situation, and fielded expertly, comments on his physical resemblance to a younger judge, which was compounded by their common passion for cricket.

I pray the ultimate judge would judge these good men gently and welcome them into His hallowed hall of justice.

HAZEL THOMPSON-AHYE attorney

Mahesh Isa Ram, of Diamond Lane, Crown Trace, Enterprise, Chaguanas appeared before Magistrate Sheron Rafael charged with breaking and entering and larceny, as well as malicious damage to the safe in which the money was kept and wasteful employment of police time. The charges were read by Rafael and all but the charge of wasting police time were laid indictably, to which Ram pleaded not guilty. Ram’s attorney, Fareed Ali urged Rafael to show his client leniency given that he has no prior convictions or matters before the court and that his family is of limited means. After careful consideration, Rafael granted Ram bail in the sum of $350,000.

Ram is expected to reappear in court on September 19.

Last Monday at about 1.30 am, Ram, who was on duty as a security guard at Excellent City Centre, Chacon St, Port of Spain, reported that he was abducted by two masked gunmen before they broke into the safe and stole the money. Ram claimed that he was later dropped off in central Trinidad and reported the incident to the PoS Criminal Investigations Department. However, after several enquiries, a file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions who gave instructions to charge Ram.

There is a lot more to be considered than just that.

Back in the days of TTT there were no other television stations, and no cable providers with a hundred-plus channels from which to choose. Two and thirteen — that was it.

TTT ’s broadcast output contained about 30 per cent local programming: Twelve and Under, Mainly for Women, Parade, Riki Tikki, Through the Eyes of Tomorrow, Panorama, Scouting for Talent, Community Dateline, The Game Show, Play of the Month, Teen Talent and Show Case, just to name a few; with most of these programmes being no longer than one hour’s duration.

The foreign programming contained shows such as Young and Restless, which at the time was the most popular show on television, Charlie’s Angels, and the rest of the day’s transmission made up of other foreign content.

In TTT ’s heyday, Trinidad had a vibrant recording industry that was rolling out music weekly, some of which have become today’s classics, that helped a great deal in producing material for local programming. Trinidad even had its own record pressing plant (KH). The cultural field was alive and this fed and manifested itself in what viewers and listeners were exposed too.

One can say that foreign shows such as America’s Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars are 21st century versions of Teen Talent, Scouting for Talent and Ballroom Dancing etc.

How sad it is that with the expansion of the electronic media no one could have taken those ideas and concepts to advance standards that could have generated viewers and buy in from advertisers.

The staff at TTT , at the time, was very professional, and management ensured that programmes were of a certain standard before they went on the air.

Times have changed, and to bring back TTT with the legacy it left would entail much hard work with lots of dedication and totally professional personnel.

The now-for-now programming that we experience today did not exist at the time.

Programmes were well researched, edited, and presented — something sadly lacking in the current electronic media today.

So if the plan is merely to change the name from CNMG to TTT , rehire personnel, and go mainly local, we may well be looking at the birth of yet another failed venture.

GERALD AGOSTINI via email

Katwaroo is pursuing a second degree in visual arts at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, focusing on fine arts which delves more into painting, sculpting and drawing.

Her experiment with fabric began quite casually.

“It was only when I did a course in fabric surface design which dealt with screen printing and fabric painting, I got interested in fabric, their prints and colours and started thinking about designing my own.

Underneath, I just had this growing interest for handbags and then I settled on clutches. I didn’t really know how to sew, so I asked my mom to show me, she helped me and eventually I got the hang of it. I learned on an old-time sewing machine and from YouTube.” She also saved the money her mother gave her, towards purchasing material. Katwaroo also approached the Santa Cruz Green Market for a space to show off her creations and the business took off from there.

“The response I have received at the Green Market is overwhelming.

Sarah Jo Designs has a growing clientele from teens to the elderly. I don’t really use any specific material but at the same time, I use cloth rather than other types of material which can pollute the environment.

This is an upside to why the Green Market allowed me to sell with them.

“I love the Green Market, especially coming from an environmental background, their work towards making people more eco-conscious about preserving and protecting nature is exceptional. In terms of competition, I am the only person who is selling bags with them, so I add variety to what they offer as well.” Although she ventured into entrepreneurship because she could not find a job after gaining her first degree, Katwaroo is focussed on building her business full-time. Her goal is to also create high-end products with leather and heavier material.

She also produces necklaces, chokers and hair accessories.

“I wanted to create a catchy name but at the same time I did not want to restrict my company to just handbags, so I gave it a neutral name so I can always expand on products, mainly accessories.

“Not everyone can afford a brand-name handbag so I wanted to create something stylish, affordable and durable that people can wear to a high-end event or on a casual day out. All the prices are under $100 for handbags.

“A tote would take an hour to cut the cloth, line and sew. While a clutch would take between 30 and 45 minutes to make,” Katwaroo said.

“Even though it is authentic to print your material, it is very time-consuming as I did the course on fabric printing so I know what it entails, but I prefer to purchase my fabric at any local cloth stores.” Katwaroo comes from a family of five and her supporters inlcude her mother Sheila, older brothers Ricardo and Rawle, cousin Hannah, boyfriend Taran Bissessar, other family members and friends. “They would always give me constructive feedback and business tips.

“What motivates me as an entrepreneur is the great response I have been getting from the public.

I love to create things for people. It feels like I am giving them a part of myself with every handbag or accessory I create because a lot of effort and emotion goes into it.” Her advice to other innovatives? “Just start with whatever little you have. Everyone begins somewhere, you can talk to anyone who is established and they will tell you that they started small but the main idea is to begin putting yourself out there.” For more info: Instagram: @ sarahjodesigns, Facebook or sarah- katwaroo@hotmail.com

After six games, in the six-team standings, Honduras are fifth with five points, while TT are rooted to the bottom with three points. Mexico lead with 14 points, followed by Costa Rica (11), United States (eight) and Panama (seven).

The top three teams will book their tickets for the World Cup in Russia while the fourth-placed team will progress to the Inter-Confederation Play-offs — against the fifth-placed team in the Asian Zone in a homeand- away tie in November.

Asked how TT coach Dennis Lawrence should approach Friday’s game, Joseph responded, “It’s important that Trinidad (and Tobago) try to get a victory in those games because we’re in the bottom of the table. Playing at home, we have the advantage.

“The game is playing in Couva and that is some advantage as far as the crowd support and (according to the coach) the closeness of the spectators to the ground. I expect that there should be a full house because it’s a smaller stadium than the Hasely Crawford Stadium.” As far as tactics are concerned, Joseph noted, “In order for us to get three points in this game, we have to use a fairly attacking system which means there might be some problems as far as the defensive part of his formation is concerned.” Joseph added, “He can’t afford to decide on an attacking formation and leave his defence open. He has to mix it in the sense that he has to be very careful to ensuring that his defence is steady and, at the same time, trying to get goals up front.

“Having played against these Central American teams, they are very quick and they use the short (passing) balls. We can’t leave the defence open because they’ll try and make use of it.” Regular captain and centre forward Kenwyne Jones is still out of the squad after suffering a knee injury in June.

Joseph stated out, “Kenwyne Jones was being used as the point man and, with the games that I saw, you weren’t seeing many much movements from him. He was looking for the ball coming across from the air. He has the strength, he has the height to get at the ball in the air but, at the same time, you cannot be static. It may be a good thing that he’s not in the team.

“We have few forwards who may be fairly quick. I think this might be a good thing that he is not playing and there are other players who could really cause some problems with the opposing defences.”

As the sensitisation thrust continues, I am hoping that groups including the secretaries of denominational boards, the several associations of principals, and TT UTA will be included In addition, each school should develop a health promotion plan for the new academic year from which staff, parents and students can benefit