So it was just announced that Andrew Yang just made the third round of the democratic debates. So in this video, not only are we going to be talking about how Andrew Yang is the only candidate who seems to care about mental health, but we're going to talk about how he made this third round of debates and the other things that he stands for. So make sure you stay tuned. What is up everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul where we talk about the problem but focus on the solution. And if you're new to my channel, I take a wide range of subjects and try to see what lessons we can pull from them to improve our own mental and emotional well-being and something that I'm extremely, extremely passionate about is mental health. So if you're into that stuff, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell. And if you're just now meeting me, I do care so much about mental health that I actually write some books on it. I'm not a licensed therapist or a psychologist. I'm a certified life coach and I've been clean and sober for seven years. I've battled depression as well as addiction and anxiety. And I write books about that stuff. So check out my website www.therewiredsoul.com. It's in the description and the pin comment down below. If you like to read, I got ebooks and audio books for you. All right. So yeah, anyways, let's talk about Andrew Yang. I did a video a while back about my first impressions of Andrew Yang and I've been kind of following him on Twitter and in the media and everything just to kind of get a feel for him. Something that I want you guys to hold me accountable for, I need to read his book. I need to read this dude's book. If you've read it, let me know down in the comments below how you liked it and your thoughts on it and things. No spoilers. I'm just kidding. But anyways, yeah, I think I'm going to go check it out from the library and try to knock it out in the next week or two and maybe do like a book review on it. But I really want to get to know him more. So I've watched, you know, both rounds of debates so far. And yeah, like the first round of debates, Andrew Yang was kind of screwed. All right. Like he had the least amount of talking time and then it came out after that his mic was being cut out. All right.  And we're going to be talking about Andrew Yang on Twitter because he's doing it like a boss. But anyways, what I found interesting in the second round of debates was that he still was at the very bottom for the amount of talking time that he had. And that's really fascinating to me because he's doing so well. But even though he had the least amount of talking time in both debates, he still just made the third round of debates. He has a massive amount of support. You might be part of that Yang gang. And let's talk about how Andrew Yang is seemingly the only candidate who cares about mental health. So here's kind of my philosophy on politics, my views, my opinions. We all care about certain things. All right. For example, if you're a business owner, you probably look at candidates and see what their policies are for small businesses and things like that. If you're a woman or you care about women's rights, you're probably looking at where the candidates stay or state they're at with abortion laws and things like that. And there's a lot of issues in this country. So I think for me personally, it's important to kind of prioritize, you know, your own values and then really look and see what the candidates are saying. And my number one thing is mental health. So when I listen to these candidates talk, I try to hear if they're talking about mental health. And here's one of the main reasons why there's such a concern for me going into the upcoming elections next year. In 2016, leading up to that, you had so many candidates who were talking about like the opioid epidemic. All right. I'm a recovering opioid addict. I have seven years clean and sober.  And you saw a lot of candidates talking about the opioid epidemic and things that they were going to do. But nothing's happened. Like even Trump talked about it, but nothing has happened, right? And this is something that we see with politicians, they pander, right? When they go up to the northeast, they'll talk about the opioid epidemic because that is one of the major conversations because there's so many overdose deaths up there, right? So anyways, mental health addiction and all of that is something that I'm very tuned in on. So I listened to these candidates. So even though Andrew Yang has had the least amount of time in both democratic debates, he has brought up mental health each time. All right. And like, I think it's important that we really watch candidates and we watch other people in our life, see what they stand for, see what topics are on their mind. And Andrew Yang, in my opinion, he's the only one that I see bringing up mental health on a regular basis without being prompted. All right. So what that tells me as a voter that that is something in the forefront of his mind and that's something that I am very passionate about. Now, don't get me wrong. All right. Before the hate comments come in, I'm not saying that nobody else cares about mental health, but it doesn't seem to be in the forefront of their other thoughts, right? Like when they're prompted or asked questions, you know, some of them say some good things and things like that. But my question is, when they get into office, what are they going to make a priority? And trust me, this country has a million issues. All right. But I think mental health needs to be the number one priority because it helps with, you know, the anger problems that we have in the United States, right? It's so divided and people are just angry. People are so angry. I would say the majority of people in the United States, I would love to do a poll on this. They're either one of two things, angry or miserable. All right. And that's something that we need to take into account. Now, there are plenty of things that are contributing to that, like the economy and all that kind of stuff. But if we start at the top and teach people how to improve their mental health, regardless of how much money they make and things like that, like this is a step in the right direction because some of us, we have to humble ourselves and take the opportunities that are presented for us and things like that. But when we get entitled, I think we deserve all these things, right? Then it's affecting our mental health and that's just my opinion on it. So I appreciate that Andrew Yang talks about this quite a bit. Now, if you're part of the Yang gang or you follow anything about Andrew Yang, he talks about the $1,000 a month, which is the freedom dividend. And let me tell you this, like when I see people talking about how this is impossible or for example, when Bernie Sanders, I'm going to talk about it in a minute, when he talks about free college and Medicare for All and everything like that, I need to do a whole video on Medicare for All or maybe on my podcast. But anyways, when people are like, where are we going to get that money? Where are we going to get that money? Please. When you realize how much money we are spending on offensive wars, all right? When you understand what our military budget is, like a fraction of that, like a small tiny piece, like we could take funds from that and take care of so many things and still have the most bad military in the world. All right? So like, don't even hit me with that mess like, where's the money going to come from? Like there is plenty of money. We are just putting it in the wrong places. But anyways, talking about Andrew Yang and the $1,000 a month and the freedom dividend, one of the best books on depression out there, all right, is from an unlicensed person. Some of you get that joke, Johann Hari. Okay, get the book Lost Connections. He's an investigative journalist. His first book, Chasing the Scream, was about the addiction epidemic around the world. This next book that he wrote, Lost Connections, is all about the depression problem around the world. He talks about anxiety as well. But anyways, he focuses on a ton of different studies. So I did a video about this a long time ago that got like absolutely no views. But they actually did a study in Canada where they gave people money, right? Kind of like the freedom dividend. And they saw massive drops in things like depression, things like anxiety. They also saw massive drops in health issues, like heart disease, because people weren't as stressed out. So that freedom dividend, when I hear Andrew Yang talk about it, he also mentions the mental health aspect of it.  But the studies they talk about in Lost Connections prove otherwise. All right, when people feel more safe and secure and comfortable, they're more likely to go out there and get jobs. But one of the things is, is that they're going to get jobs that they actually like. And employers have to be better too, because people don't have to settle for working at a crappy place. Like, it is such an amazing study. I'm going to see if I can find an article to link down in the description below. Like, I will like, don't worry, I got you, baby. All right. But anyways, that's why I just love what Andrew Yang is doing. So how he made the third round of debates. Here's my theory on it. This dude is plugged in and connected. All right, like I follow most of the Democratic candidates on Twitter. And most of them, like when you look at their Twitter accounts, you're like, okay, is this really them tweeting? Or did they tell somebody what to tweet? Right. And with Andrew Yang, you can tell it's him. Not only is it him who's tweeting out, but he's also replying to tweets. I just saw him reply to Casey Neistat and stuff like that. But he interacts and gets involved with people. And like, that's why, although he didn't get that much airtime on the Democratic debates, like he, he just made it to the third round and was able to raise the funds, because this dude is an entrepreneur. He's a businessman. He understands marketing and he understands the importance of connecting with your audience.  All right. Aside from that, he also just went on the ACE3, ACE3 podcast, which is huge. I remember seeing Roberto Blake mention that on Twitter like a month ago and then it happened. So I'm not saying Roberto helped get those wheels in motion, but I wouldn't be surprised. But anyways, like Andrew Yang getting on these kind of smaller level podcasts and everything like, you know, Bernie Sanders was just on Joe Rogan. But I think it's important that Andrew Yang is connecting with the other people in the community and not just going after like the biggest ones for the biggest exposure and all that. Like this kind of micro marketing is huge. And that's what I think Bernie had, you know, in 2016 or 2015 before he kind of got screwed by the primaries. But anyways, my final thoughts on this for now, for now, I will be doing updates and I do want to do more videos on politics. So make sure you let me know down in the comments below. There's things you want me to touch on. But anyways, in my opinion, I still like personally, I think Bernie has a great chance. Maybe Elizabeth Warren, I would prefer Bernie though. But in my like dream team scenario, it'd be Bernie Sanders for his experience, right? And everything that he stands for boom, you get Andrew Yang as the vice president. I think those two dudes would make some amazing things happen. But yeah, like just when it comes to Andrew Yang, like, it's just even though he he understands all this stuff and he has some great views and great ideas, in my opinion, he just doesn't have the experience of somebody like Bernie Sanders. So that's why, you know, I would kind of put Bernie and then Andrew Yang. But let me know your thoughts down in the comments below. Let me know who you're rooting for. And if you're on the other side of the aisle, that's cool too. Like, don't get me wrong. Like, I, like, although I lean more towards the liberal side, like I am just somebody who looks at policies and what aligns with my beliefs. Alright, but let me know your thoughts down in the comments below and I will be doing follow ups. So feel free to follow me on Instagram and Twitter if there's any topics that you feel like I should cover on here or even on my podcast.  Because if you don't, you have absolutely no right to complain about anything. Go out there, vote, and also be educated about what these candidates actually stand for. Alright, anyways, that's all I got for this video. If you want some mental health books, make sure you check out the description and the pinned comment down below. Visit my website, got them all over there. Alright, but if you like this video, please give it a thumbs up. If you're new, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell. And a huge, huge thank you to everybody supporting the channel over on Patreon. You're all amazing and a huge thank you to everybody who gets my books and all that kind of good stuff.  Alright, thanks again for watching. I'll see you next time.


Felly, roeddwyd yn hanes. Pwy fydd wedi dod dweud i'r wahanol am lleidio'r shinig o'r fideis i gydag'u cyhoeddaint. Oeso'n rhoeddiol iawn. Mae'r awg erdoedd ddwy nesaf, a'r twfynau deutel wedi'u gwahanol, ac yn ysgolwch beth sydd oedd wedi'i'r dweud ei broddiol yn y cyfnod o'r dweud. Wel, ar y maen nhw i ddim yn ymddangos a'r mastor. Ac ond nid ddod o'r ffordd o'ch cwestiynau arnyn hynny, a dywed o'n gwneud o'r gwaith, Cymru yn ddysgu. Rydyn ni'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'ch cymryd o'r cyfryd, pan yn ymgyrch arnyn nhw'n mynd i'n mynd i'ch cymryd, Cymru yn cael ei ddweud i'r gweithio. Rydyn ni'n mynd i'ch gael i'ch gael i'r gael i'ch gael. Ond i'n meddwl y cwestiynau, Patrick Read, Roryr, yn y grwp ffynol. fe'n meddy intensely pleiw mwy i'r ddan millennials.  That didn't pan out to me. I want to talk about this video as quickly as about Rory's performance in the Master's and how nervous affected it and how the history of what's gone on in terms of he's got the Grand Slam thing going over him he's got the last-day failure a few years up I wonder how much that plays on his mind leading to that final day yesterday. And then your experiences, have you failed miserably going into a competition, maybe going into the last four or five holes in one of your monthly medals, got a good card in your hand, what goes wrong, why do we fail? Talk about that one in a bit, but first of all, the Masters. You've got to say congratulations to Patrick Reid. He didn't play brilliantly on the final day, but he battled hard and he did well. He made put 20 at two, he made shot 20 at two and he scraped down to that 15 under and it was enough to win. Some amazing performances, no more so than Jordan Spieth, incredible round from Jordan Spieth. Absolutely ashamed that he bogey'd the last although it wouldn't have made any difference in the end. People like Fowler again who turns up and you look at the leaderboard really. These people turn up for major after major and they really are setting themselves as that sort of top, I don't know, 10 to 20 players in the world really feature in every major at the moment in that final day. But like I said, congratulations to Patrick Reid, but what about Rory? I'm a massive fan of Rory McRoy, I thought for the three days he played absolutely fantastic golf and he looked really, really comfortable, really confident. It was great to see him at the putter again. Obviously he's a lot happier with this new putter. He's got stroking in putts, making a lot of saves with putts and it looked like I said for me, his whole body language has seen it very, very confident, his short game was good. And like I said yesterday, you sort of knew within three or four holes that it wasn't going to be Rory's day because his whole body language right from his poor first tee shot managed to make a save there. But from then on in, it just wasn't quite on it and then straight away with the flat stick he wasn't making the putts, he didn't look as confident. He was playing very, very quick as well. I don't know whether maybe Reid was playing slightly slower, I don't know at his normal pace and Rory was trying to get the game going, get a bit of rhythm going in his game. But he seems to be playing extremely quick at times. And I just wonder, and again, more interesting in your thoughts really, how much do you think Rory is affected by this idea of the grand slam hanging over him? And like I said earlier, this idea that his final day failed a few years back now, I don't know what year it was, but how miserable that was, is that impacting on his performance, did it impact on his performance yesterday? So that's your opinions on that one. Next thing is your own personal performance and how you deal with nerves. Do you get first tee nerves? Do you get more nervous when you're playing the competition rather than with friends? And from a personal level I would say yes, 100%. I think that's an obvious one and see how you do too. But I think for me, if I play in a competition, it is all about the start. So if I start off well, I can kind of finish well. I don't so much get the nerves of seeing the final five, six holes out. That doesn't really bother me too much. I'm all right. If I'm striking the ball okay and feeling good from a good start, I'll generally be able to carry on.  And the same in match play really. I love match play and I love the to and fro of a game and having to make a put. I kind of enjoy all that bit, but it really for me is all about how I start. If I start pretty poorly, I think it's so hard to get your game going again. That's the difficulty. A far different level than obviously yesterday at the Masters, but at our level, at the amateur level, who's played in some medals last year, year before? Have you got any epic fails of your own where you've gone into the last four or five holes? Cos most of our competitions will be obviously a single day competition. So it's not much that you'll necessarily carried over to the following day. So it's more about getting off to a good start, getting 14, 15 holes in, looking at that medal card and all of a sudden the collapse comes in. And why? What is it that affects us? Why is it that we can't see the game out? Whether you're Rory McElroy at the top of the tree, plenty of justification for him I suppose, but it's something you'd think he would now be used to and being in that spotlight and where he performs every week. But then right down at the amateur level in our monthly medals, we still get those nerves. It's part of the buzz of the game I think as well, especially in a match play situation, a game where you've got to make a full footer for the win. That little bit of excitement is one of those things that never goes away. And then again, just on the whole love of the game itself is the fact that I love you can play competitive golf from a young age right in the way to old age. Having to make a full footer doesn't matter what age you are in a match play situation, you'll still get that buzz. Anyway, quick video, put your comments down below. Love to hear your opinions on what happened at yesterday's Masters. And also, like I said, about your own personal experiences when it's got the better of you. That's it, I am back. Videos will be coming through thick and fast, about to do some club testing and plenty of videos in the next week or so. With this one, thumbs up, thanks for watching, subscribe if you don't already and I'll get cracking and I'll see you very soon.


Welcome, I'm Peter Rossig and this is the two wheel revolution here on ThinkTechOI.com. This is a show where we talk about micro mobility, personal mobility on electric devices like electric bikes, electric skateboards, electric unicycles, electric scooters and eventually we'll get to electric wheelchairs when I'm ready. But tonight, today we're going to talk about the exception, we're not going to talk about a two wheel device, we're going to talk about a one wheel device, which appropriately enough is called a one wheel. And my guests today are Josh Wheatley, who is with us from Virginia where he is, he hopes temporarily living before he gets back to Hawaii. And Randy Kamahelet, who is here in Hawaii and is one of the founders of a group of people of enthusiasm. So welcome guys, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having us. Thank you Peter. All right. So let's start with the obvious or the simple question. What is a one wheel? Randy, what is a one wheel? So a one wheel is a self-balancing motorized personal electric vehicle, basically, similar to a skateboard except with one wheel and similar to a hoverboard where once you get on it, once you engage it, it's up to you how you want to go, the amount of pressure you put on it, how fast you want to go. So it's okay. What do you mean? We're going to take a picture of one, which is great. Josh, anything to add to that definition? Yeah, it's pretty accurate. It's a self-balancing board. So basically it takes your inner peace and puts you even more peace. It's very fun to get on this sucker and it emulates like surfing, snowboarding, a little bit of skateboarding, but ultimately it's just a whole lot of freedom. It's a lot of just freedom of view of the wheel and your friends and cruise it around. It's a beautiful thing. All right. Can you... Is it different from... I've seen electric skateboards with four wheels and usually the rider's got a hand device to control it. So it's different from that I've taken. It is. It literally... Boom. One wheel device as it goes level. You have yourself a machine that goes, if you lean this way, it goes that way. Pretty fun stuff. If you're on off-road, there's not too much terrain that it can't handle. And the better you get at it, just like anything you become as skilled as Randy, who jumps off of things and slides off of stuff. And me, I just like to cruise nice and easy peasy. Okay. So is it hard to... I've never ridden one. I've never really been on a skateboard. So how's it going to be for me to get on all of these things? Have you ever snowboarded, skied, skateboarded anything like that? The only thing I've got is the original Segway, the two-wheel side-by-side two wheels. And it was self-balancing and it was also very intuitive. After about five minutes, I didn't even think about it. But that's my experience. What's it going to be like? Very similar. Very similar. I can guarantee you'd be able to ride this thing within 10, 15 minutes, at least get up on it, roll around a little bit. You might not have it mastered. I still have it mastered riding five years now. But yeah, you'll definitely be able to get up and have fun within 15, 20 minutes. Absolutely. Yeah. If you can stand, you're able to ride. It's pretty simple.  As most of us do, learning how to walk or anything of that sort, you put your hands out, you'll hold onto somebody and you feel the balance. Once you've felt the balance, the rest is up to you. It's pretty simple. It's a lot of ankle work. It's a lot of knee work and a lot of hip work. But keep your core centered and very intuitive once you feel the electric vibe of everything. It becomes second nature. Josh, how long have you been riding? Randy said about five years. How about you? Yeah, it was 2018 when they came out with the XR from Future of Motion. It was their second version of the one wheel.  I don't know, but I went ahead and scooped one of it up and within three days, I learned quickly to wear pads. Yeah, very important. But just like with anything, you stay safe on it and it'll treat you as well as you treat it. It's definitely 2018. I think it's my first pick. My first trip is in February, I think, of 2018. So you haven't ridden for quite some time, many miles. And you raised my next question, really, and that is, what do you do about safety? It's super huge. I'd highly suggest anyone starting off on one of these to at least have a helmet, of course, that's first and foremost, you've got to protect that noggin. And then secondly, I would suggest risk guards. Because of the angle of where you stand on this board, you're very like a surfboard, like a snowboard, your forward foot is turned to the side there. So when you do eventually, there's two types of riders, right, Randy? One that has fallen and one that will fall. So you will fall down, it will happen. And the wrist and hands are the first things that kind of take the brunt of anything. I can say I've broken my wrist. I've had stitches. Randy has a knot on his elbow right now that's probably the size of my head. So we've done our damage to ourselves over the years. So you're having trouble here convincing people who've never ridden to ride. But it's realistic. Anything like this, there's always, you can be careful, you better be careful. You better have safety equipment, but no matter how much you do, there's a risk involved. I think that's true. And with that risk, Peter, there's a lot of reward with great risk. There's great reward. So it's all within your limitations. If you're just taking nice and easy and you're standing on the path, a nice paved path, gosh, anyone can do it from 80 years old to eight years old. Anyone can get on it and do it. It's a matter of how extreme you want to take it. Anyone can ride a bike, but some people jump off of ramps and what have you. Just that's more Randy and our speed. We, you know, we see a lot of people doing in skateboard parks, doing these, in these kind of bowls and bowls and they're going up and slipping around. Is that the sort of thing you would do? Or is that, is that really just for a non-electric four-wheel? I don't want to confirm or deny it, but yeah. One at a time. Let me start with Randy. What do you say? Sorry. No, yeah. So that's kind of, we've kind of tried our luck at it. Then the boards take a beating, you know, because it's concrete and stuff, but I mean, yeah, we're definitely trying to progress into that. That's kind of the next stage of it, right? And you can only do so much on flat land. And that's kind of where this thing is going now. There's guys in the main line, like Kyle Hansen and Brent and Sharma, who were like using these things called flight fins that you attach to your one wheel. And your feet kind of get locked in. Where, yeah, they're like riding around skate parks, like the skateboarder, you know, they're doing tricks, getting the hips, coming over doing transitions. So the sport is definitely taken off and it's progressing. It's really like cool to see how fast it's going, you know, taking off and the way it is. Really? Well, for most of us, it's not going to be slipping the board or flipping, you know, that kind of stuff, I would say. Because just like any sport, the pros can do it, but the amateurs better be careful, right? Absolutely. Yeah, definitely. All right. Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about the Hawaii float. Randy, you're one of the founders or the founder of the float. Tell us what that's all about. Well, so it started out, it was just a field was that we still meet up and ride, you know, I mean, these things are expensive. It's not like they're going around a lot before COVID and stuff. Once COVID hit a lot more people have their stimulus checks or whatever, you know, wherever people got money from, they started buying, you know, you just started seeing them more and more. So our grief started, there was two of us, then there was four of us, then there was six of us. And now I'd say there's, you know, we're in the hundreds now as far as they drew not every night on a Friday night, but we meet up and we'll run like 30 to 40 people out there on a good night. And where do you start? So there's different locations. We usually meet up in town by coca-cola across from bike factory. Shout out to bike factory if that's okay. Not the bike factory. Yes. But yeah, we meet out. It seems to be a pretty good central place. We have a good right from there, the coca-cola to magic island to the fountain and wiki key. And it's just a good vibe in wiki key and everybody wears their gear. Everybody safe. Everybody has fun. So it's, it's one of our stops. So if I show up without a helmet and say, can I ride with you? Do you guys tell me to go home or what's the deal? I usually got an extra helmet or somebody else does, but I mean, you're walking around however you want to ride.  Like, okay.  Wouldn't I, I would, I would. I've, I've learned the hard way. Like Josh said, I got staples and stuff like that. So to each his own, I definitely highly recommend them. You know, and what's kind of cool about the main line is like they're kind of making it a mandatory thing, which I was kind of talking to my buddy Steve here, who is the founder actually of Hawaii float sessions. What's that name again? So it's a Hawaii float sessions. Who is the founder? So it's Steven Neblato. He's a good friend. Okay. He's on Instagram at Hawaii float sessions. Okay. Instagram tag and. Is that where we were?  I mean, it's all about the group though. I mean, we kind of started it. He kind of came in and we just kind of took over the name Hawaii float sessions, but it's always been. Oh, one wheel, which is how I met Josh over that. He just saw videos of mine that I would post about the rides here. And I just, I kind of got into editing, which is another beautiful thing about one wheel where like, I didn't realize how much fun I'd have, like actually videoing other people writing and doing the editing, going through it. And just that whole sequence and do or not that whole, it's just, it's just another whole element of it. Yeah. It's, it's how I met Josh, like I said, so he actually would contact me and like, Hey man, I, I saw your video. You know, that's awesome. You know, you make me want to move to Hawaii. Yeah. She moved to Hawaii. So you can finish that job. So I mean. Yeah. You moved to Hawaii to juice to join the one wheel. I wouldn't say go that far.  No, but we, we, we had an opportunity to move to Hawaii. My wife and I, but I didn't know anybody on a Wahoo. Specifically, I know a lot of people in Kauai, but I didn't know anybody on a Wahoo and I reached out to Randy when I first got to the island and I've been floating for quite some time. And there's, there's a joy in floating by yourself. Sure. They call it float therapy, but there is just something just more better. It's more better when you get the whole crew together and we can just all float together, keep everybody safe too. And so I reached out to Randy and I said, man, I've been watching your videos and I would love to, to find some cool trails. You guys have some amazing trails. And then Randy showed me a little spot on a map, you know, said show up here first thing in the morning. And I did. I couldn't be happier that he, that he did. I was the slowest one. I couldn't keep up with all of them because they know the trails like the back of their head. But yeah, I come in happy and smiling like a little bearded turtle. And these guys got jerseys and the crew got together and we all got jerseys and numbers and just, there's a lot of pride and a lot of, he made it in our state. He said it's a great, good time. It's a great time. But we get together through going through Waikiki and sharing the aloha and just spreading that amazing vibe and good energy, just always good energy. I have so many amazing stories from the friends I've met and have to this day from just a simple, nerdy little one wheel that we all wanted to get together and ride together, you know, made some amazing friendships over. Wow. That's terrific. I gotta say, I rarely, you see the more and more on the streets of Honolulu and I rarely seen anybody go by that wasn't basically smiling. It's like, whether you're commuting to work or just out for a float or a cruise or whatever, people really seem to enjoy it. So that's, you know, that's a great recognition to me. Have you ever seen anyone on a surfboard looking angry? So it's the same vibe. Yeah. Okay. Good comparison. So you brought something up and it's not just a street or a pavement kind of device. You can also go off road with it, so to speak. And we've got a little video and why don't we see that video now and see what the possibilities, some of the possibilities are. Where was that, Randy? So that's actually a place we call Disneyland. And it's a secret spot. You don't have to tell us where it is if you don't want it. There's better spots down the road. Yeah. We better keep that one a secret spot. All right. Yeah. Is that in Disneyland? Yeah. It's just like surfing then, right? You don't want to give away too much about your good surf spot. I got that. Well, we take pride in that spot.  We take pride in that place. We've been going out there for quite a few years now. People come and pass through there. And, you know, we see trash and stuff out there. And it's like, we know it's not our trash. So we try to keep it to a minimum. If you find it out there, God bless you. Have fun. Be safe. But, you know, yeah, we call it Disneyland. I was just on the Pearl City bike path on a tricycle, actually.  But unfortunately, people just can't seem to respect something like that. Then want to leave cars and everything else behind. It's one of the tragedies of urban life, I guess. But, so, the, how long, if you're doing that trail, and don't tell us where it is, but how long, say you, how long is that trail? Half a mile, a mile, or where you could, before you have to turn around or whatever. I'll take this one. So Randy has been riding for quite some time, and all the guys on the island, they have upgrades that you can do to these boards, Peter. So that particular trail, I mean, we put easily 10 to 15 miles a day when we go a dual route through that. Yeah. So, but that's nothing compared to all the way up Diamond Head and back in one evening. We'll end up putting 18 miles or so, 20 miles on a board. And you have to have legs of steel for that. So sometimes these guys ride real hard, but there's a lot of fun upgrades you can do with the older models, the newer models, they come equipped with a blue top 25 to 30 mile range fully charged. So they fully capable. In fact, you mentioned the Pearl Harbor Bike Trail, which is a great trail. We have a good friend who, I call him the Island Doctor, but brother Jay, he takes care of all of our one-wheels. He's a little electrical genius, and he tweaks them up when we bang them up and all that fun stuff. And he rides all the way from Eva to Pearl City every day down that path. And what a beautiful way to save even on gas. It just has this nice sand moment to clear your head before you get to work. Man, the stuff is better. Yeah, up there. That's interesting. So what an older model, let's say, not this new one that's kind of 25 or so mile range. What's the typical range on a regular run of the mill model? About 15 to 18 miles on a full charge, depending on your weight and how hard you're riding. It definitely changes a lot of the variables, but correct, correct. It definitely helps. Actually, it's a fun thing. When you go in downhill, you manage that. They have this thing called regenerative power. So you can regenerate power as you go downhill. It's a pretty nice feature. Get an extra mile or two range. All right. And how long, if I've run my board out to almost empty or empty, how long does it take to recharge? I'd say about an hour, about an hour or so. So depending on your charge, you can get fast charge buying. You can get fast chargers and make it even faster. All right. Yeah, absolutely. And that all comes to charger. All that kind of stuff comes with the kit, I'm sure. Absolutely. Absolutely. And on the island, one of the more notorious places, again, bike factory sells them in house there locally on island. So that's good to support local. All right. And there, what's the... I suppose there's a warranty when you get a new one, but how often do these things go the fricks on you or have to be repaired? It just depends on what you ride. What you've done to it. I know it depends on what you rode it into, but in general, are they pretty good machines or doesn't seem like there's a lot of loose stuff hanging off it that could get broken or whatever. No. These are just like a tank. All right. Josh, I noticed your boards look a little bit... We have that picture that was just up on the screen. There it is.  They have and they definitely have some love. Everyone kind of puts your own flavor into it, if you will. So I've customed a lot of things, custom bags and things of that nature. There's a lot of different great companies out there, third-party companies that sell aftermarket stuff for the one wheel. So you can really kind of make it your own. They've got shredded tires. They have slick tires. They're all air-filled tires. So it's kind of like going to a car show and seeing two of the same cars. It's not really going to happen, you know? So yeah, make them your own. And on the mainland, like you're in Virginia, have you found float groups or have you found other enthusiasts or are you kind of the lone ranger when you're out riding around? Particularly right now, being that I just moved back from Hawaii, I have not found a new clique here, but I know there are a lot of DC riders that go ride through down Washington DC. In fact, Javier, he's the number one rider in the world with his canning title. I don't want to say the wrong number, but he's well over the 18 to 20,000 mile range on his board. Yeah. And we have a holocawee in Oahu there. I have Fiesta Mike. A little shout out to him. Fiesta Mike is number five now, Randy, or four in the world with miles. Five. I think he's five now. Yeah. He's got a lot of miles. I want to say he's at 16 or 17,000 miles on his one board. So that is, that's durability. I don't know if I can keep my car going that long. So that's terrific. Yeah.  So what's going to happen when I show up there? What do I do? I look for you? Do I look for somebody else? Tell me about showing up as a complete newbie for the first time at the Hawaii. Well, it pretty much happens every week. It's kind of the beauty of it. Like, as we're writing, we'll see people and they'll be like, hey, I see you guys. Can I come out? And we're like, yeah. You know, what we run into a lot is people will see us writing and they're like, I see you guys all the time, but I'm too nervous. I'm too nervous to come out. I'm not that good of a writer and stuff like that. And the thing with us is like, yeah, people are going to go fast. They're going to be doing their own thing, but there is no speed limit.   So you just sit down and say, if you came out, you'd be encouraged to like get better and be like surrounding people who are just trying to have fun and are trying to make sure you get better, make sure you're comfortable.  That's all you got.  Welcome to the family. Immediately. Yeah. I'm still welcome. For sure. Immediately. Yeah. Yeah. I've never met anybody in this crew, even though it was years ago. I joined. I, I didn't know anyone. And all I did was just try to keep up as best I could. And they're, they always will stop at certain points to make sure everybody's gathered up that we didn't lose anybody along the path. You know, it's very respectful that way. And it's beyond just the pushing yourself to get better. It's, it's in life too. I've had some great conversations with some of these, the group of guys and fives that are out there. People that would just need someone to float with, don't even like to talk sometimes. They'll just come out and ride with us and, and we accept everyone from all shapes and sizes of life. And it's a beautiful thing. The Aloha is very strong with the Hawaii float such crew. Yeah. That's terrific. And what happened at the end? Does everybody go for a, a Coke or an adult beverage?  Yeah. People break off at their own times and you know, and they're, yeah, I got to go here. People, a lot of people live in riding distance and they ride to the meetup and then ride from there, which is nice. You know. Um, yeah, everybody just kind of breaks off in their own roots. People do go have adult beverages. People do go have Coke. People do go have late night food, you know. Um, What is one of the, So it's interesting getting back. Getting back. Like when you do a swim, you finally fall out of the water and you think, geez, where do I live? My slippers. So, but you can carry this sort of thing on the, on the bus, right?  How much is one of these guys way? They're pretty heavy. I mean, 30 pounds. Oh, it's just going to show off here.  What's the weight? They're actually about 20, 25, 25 pounds. 30 pounds. Yeah. I've got a lot of stuff on my mind. But you can, there is a handle or a place where you can hold on to it and pick it up and, uh, and sling it up on the bus and, and get back to wherever you're going. Right. So you're not, you know, you can put a bicycle on the front of the bus, but sometimes, you know, the bike racks are taken and, uh, I don't think you can get a scooter on a bike on a bus these days yet. So who knows? Well, in terms of what it can, what it can do. Yeah. Actually, yeah, there's two, two different models. There's a pint X and then there's a GT. So the GT is the bigger weighs about 27 pounds, 28 pounds stock. And then the pint X is about, about 22 pounds. So it's really quite versatile. The range is different for both of them, of course. And, uh, I don't want to give inaccurate statements on how long they're, but they've definitely upgraded them, the pint X and the, and the bigger version than GT. They go pretty long distance in a very, about 25 pounds. So yeah. And you either go to the bike factory or Honolulu, or I imagine one wheel.com will get you to the. Yeah. The website. We're reaching the end of our show. And I really appreciate you guys talking about it. Cause, as you figured out, I've kind of seen it go by, but I've never really understood that much about it. I've never understood that much about riding them.   What would you say to them, Randy? Why don't you start out? What's your, anything else you want to add? Oh, like I said, it's, it's all about just having fun on it. Being original, right? You're doing your own thing now. It's, it's the freedom for me. It's therapy. You know, it's, it's really when I'm on the board, it's like, that's all you're thinking about. No bills. Definitely.  You know, that's right. Thank you. That's our Josh. Give us your last, your last word here. I mean, like I said earlier, this is definitely a great risk, great reward. I would suggest anyone try it. Make sure you wear the safety gear and don't be afraid to just go up to anyone else that has a long wheel and say, hey, I want a will to because you meet some of the best people on the planet and you do. We're all just happy floaters. And that's what we'll continue to do. Float, float, Aloha. All right. That's terrific. I really appreciate you guys coming on. This has been the two wheel revolution talking about the one wheel, which you can find at the bike factory or perhaps some other stores here and you can find it online. I encourage people to give it a try. And if you get to the point that you can go a block or two, show up for the Hawaii float and meet some very interesting people, men and women. So this has been think tech Hawaii, the two wheel revolution on Peter Ross. Thank you so much for watching. And we'll be back in a couple of weeks. Aloha guys. Thank you so much for watching think tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please click the like and subscribe button on YouTube. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Check out our website think tech Hawaii.com. Mahalo.


One of the things that I thought about is the unanimity and I thought that that would be something that should be celebrated I always thought it was something that was ridiculous and should not have been And I think that sometimes and you all know that I'm a writer at heart The writers are a little bit too self-important and they're the gatekeepers to this museum In a way, that's good. They just they take their job very seriously some take themselves a little bit too seriously and people that were certainly Worthy were kept out of the Hall of Unanimity and The only one who's ever done it now is Mariano Rivera If you don't think it matters There's a video that's out that was shot when Jack O'Connell president of the Baseball Writers Association of America He's one of the greatest jobs in the world. He gets to call the people that make the Hall of Fame Yeah, he doesn't call the people that don't make it. He gets to call the people and tell them I mean so you're always Bringing good news and when you know first he said you've made the Hall of Fame and the family is all happy and they hug Mo and then he said I also want to tell you that you're the first and they knew exactly what's coming next and the place exploded So it meant something especially there are a lot of Hall of Famers There's only one first-time guy who got in without anybody not saying no and it's Mariano Rivera And I think it should happen a long time ago. It should happen with Siever should happen with Ruth Should happen with DiMaggio should happen with Williams should happen with Maze should have happened with Aaron But it's Mariano Rivera, and I'm glad that he gets to enjoy just to look at his face He has to showing it right now just beaming from ear to ear how happy was his son's high-fiving him and each other Well, it meant a lot the unanimity aspect meant a lot now. There are circumstances why That the Ted Williams or Ken Griffey juniors or Tom Sievers Didn't get a hundred percent as you mentioned in the soft open there are guys that want someone that may not get enough votes And they only get ten votes and they got there nine and they say well Ted Williams They're getting it is going to get in any way, so I won't use my vote on him I'll use it on somebody else. So it's the system that's convoluted plus used to have guys back in the day I guess they don't exist anymore all because Joe DiMaggio didn't go on in the first ballot I will never vote for anyone on the first ballot looks like most of those guys are now gone or I'm not going to vote for a closer because it's not a real position I'm not going to vote for a DH because it's not a real position I think the riders have kind of grown up and It's the system that has stopped these guys so to suggest that Mo Rivera is The greatest player in the history of baseball and that's why he's a hundred percent that he's somehow better than Ken Griffey Junior Ted Williams Tom Siever you shouldn't look at it that way It's just circumstances because I don't think Tom Siever was the greatest pitcher of all time And I don't think that Ken Griffey junior was the best everyday player of all time for them to have the highest percentage of votes I do believe that Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time But does he deserve the hundred percent when there are a lot of other players that you probably would that you would take over him as being Better it for the game. I mean Ted Williams is one of the greatest hitters of all time Well, he may as one of the greatest all-around players of all time. How do they not have a hundred percent? But I don't think it's a reflection on the quality of players a reflection on the system It is a reflection on the system and the system is broken in a sense First of all, I don't believe that you should be voting the best ever at this position It's the Hall of Fame whether you're not you're worthy of the Hall of Fame I never understood why some people could vote for somebody one year or not another and then I got deeper into the thought process of the rule of 10 So you can only vote for 10 people on the ballot. I was listening to Buster only today Talking with Humpty Canty and Rafi and he said I stopped voting because of the rule of 10 He said I voted for 10 people there were seven more that I felt were Hall of Fame worthy And I left them off like Mike Messina and Tim Reigns He goes and I thought afterward that's just wrong just because there's a lot of guys on the ballot doesn't mean I should leave people off You're either a Hall of Famer or you're not there shouldn't be degrees of it And until there's a degree level in the Hall of Fame where okay, this hall is for the really good This is haulers for the all-time great this to haul us for the people I got in you Unanimously there's not you're either a Hall of Famer or you're not and Tom Siever is one of the greatest pitchers of all time and Ken Griffey juniors one of the greatest players of all time and Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time So I don't think that that's why he got the unanimous vote. I really believe Just his gentle nature and soul combined with the fact that he was one of the I mean He was just unbelievable on the mound. He didn't rub anybody the wrong way He never blew anybody off He never felt like he was better than you because he was Mariano Rivera And I think that sometimes although they try not to riders do let their personal feelings creep in because I'm sorry Whatever you might think of Kurt Schilling He's a Hall of Fame pitcher right and only 61% of the voting block gave him their vote. Why? You can't look at his numbers and say he's not a Hall of Famer You're looking at other things as well And I think that's why he didn't get in and I think the fact that Mariano Rivera Is such a like a top-of-the-line guy, there's no one that wanted that stain on their reputation a lot of time being upset last night for Schilling Did you yeah, I laid up at night. I thought about it. I went a good man not getting what he deserves This is wrong. This is wrong, and then I fell asleep But in all seriousness if there's full disclosure on the voting and there should be and it's not the three people That didn't vote for Ken Griffey, Jr. I want to know your reason All right, and if it's because I didn't like the fact that he wore his cap backwards Or I don't like the fact that he blew me off for an interview back in the day when he was traded to the Reds Or I didn't like his dad or I don't vote for guys on the first ballot. You know what? We're taking your vote away That's not a good enough reason if you can convince me baseball wise why he's not a first ballot Hall of Famer If you have that ability then good luck, then you can keep your vote But if you didn't vote for Kurt Schilling because you don't like the his politics I don't think that's a good enough reason. Why about the people that vote for people because they're buddies and they're or not I don't listen to that. We had it and we'll have Joe Tori on again today. I Honestly now he we don't know if he voted for for Harold Baines or not We know he voted for Lee Smith because Lee Smith got in on all 16 votes right for the Veterans Committee But I didn't like I don't like the reason well, you know, he's a darn good player Darn good player does not mean that you're a Hall of Famer darn good, you know But and you can't do these things in a vacuum either when you put Lee Smith in Michael that opens the door for a lot of other closers And I think the same thing happens with with Messina, you know, is he Hall of Famer? Yeah, he's Hall of Famer Is he borderline Hall of Famer? Yes, I believe he is a borderline Hall of Famer But if Mike Messina's in house Kurt Schilling not in How's Andy Petty on he get 9% of the vote now? You can you put the PED angle there David Cohn was off the ballot in one year because he got under 5% Which I think is a joke Here's the thing I asked Steven A. Smith on his show your life depended on it Who you want starting the game? Schilling Cone Pet it or Messina. I'd say Messina's fourth. Yeah, probably right I mean Kurt Schilling is one of the great postseason pitchers of all time politics aside. How do you ignore that?


Good day and welcome to issues and answers a production of the government information service I am your host Jack Hingson Compton and today we're talking SSDF and right now We're here with the executive director of the st. Lucia social development fund or SSDF dr. Alison mathre Dr. Mather, how are you doing? Good morning? Good morning? Very well. Thank you. How about you? I'm not too bad Thank you for coming on our program. We have a lot to discuss about SSDF its various programs its purpose First of all, I want you to start off with what exactly is SSDF's mandate and tell us a little bit about the history of SSDF Very simply the mandate is poverty alleviation The SSDF was born out of a merger between the post reduction fund Which was started in 1997 and basically These two agencies merged to form the SSDF Of course the BNTF program the targets communities poor communities And yes the poverty reduction fund targeted individuals or an indigent Indigent individuals. How does your work mean that you work very closely with the the Ministry of Equity? Well, the SSDF actually falls It's a statutory organization, but falls under the minister of equity if you will so by extension It is under the umbrella of the Ministry of Equity Now you've mentioned That it's one of its main purposes is poverty alleviation From your view, what are some of the societal ills that? Result or come about as a result of poverty or this then numerous numerous key issues of housing Education Also, a lot of a lot of the social ills Can be tied back to The family structure all of these things are affected impacted seriously by by By poverty as a matter of fact some of the programs like the all-boys matter program that you mentioned Was born out of the the need to try to assist Some children in schools, so I mean if you really want to look at it a lot of the The clear lens and criminality and all of these things that most of these things are born out of Inadequate access or lack of access to resources that The children are the key in terms of getting children developed for for the world of life and work so the business of Dealing of poverty is very very serious Now you mentioned the our boys matter program obviously on a as we discussed off-camera on another program I want to talk in depth about it But just give us a brief overview of what the our boys matter program is with targets Well, I let me let me what I what I will do is and said I'll tell you because you know When I talk about OBM I have to talk about his both how it was born our boys matter program was created out of a New SSDF drive resource mobilization drive What happened was that having recognized that? funding over the years from central government as well as from the International donors was decreasing Tremendously we recognized the need to to tap into the private sector because the reality is that there are many Private organizations that take their corporate responsibility very seriously, and I think Government governmental agencies haven't really tapped into it and Perhaps there was no need because I'm in the early days of SSDF I mean we used to get a lot of substantial funding so Necessities the murder of invention so once that started to dry up We needed to still to to start to see where else we could get funding to execute our mandate because The dwindling funds didn't decrease the number of persons need in assistance as you'd appreciate so One of the early persons we created a resource mobilization office brought in a new resource mobilization officer at the time was miss Ania Edwin and One of the one of the early post organizations we target we went to was Massey stores and We were given the indicator that it would be interested in partnering the DSSDF on an initiative But two things that they required was one it had to target vulnerable young males And the other thing is it had to have a mentorship component So we went back to the drawing board. We said you know myself and I mean within a day We had developed this our boys market program that was designed and in the early days We called it boys to men and After the name that was used in Trinidad by the Massey stores head office and but we subsequently changed it all boys matter and Basically the program seeks to We recognize that there were a number of young males in Secondary schools language in secondary schools who were not they were not equipped with the Theoretical knowledge and skills didn't have the interest I should see in that sort of thing And they were more interested in technical vocational, you know types of subjects Equally you'd find the same children are interested in sports some of them may be interested in the arts and what have you and but our education system doesn't really make enough allowance for that and It's it's a shame that we didn't continue from schools like the castries comprehensive and Leon Hesse and Have so that we could have more Technical vocational type school training for for young people. So we found there were a number of children sitting in schools But first of all Had no interest in the academics. They were feeling Every subject the attendance was poor because one of the reasons for the poor attendance was that The parents couldn't afford to pay transportation fees for them. They couldn't pay for their meals and what have you so It's easier for them to keep them home What happens when especially especially when you have young boys in poor inner cities What happens when they're not at school? What are they into and? Chances are it's not anything good So effectively what is happening is that the system is creating a breeding ground For what we're dealing with today with all the Crime and murders and what have you had these boys been engaged given a chance first chance I call it we call these second chances, you know care and SDC and we call them second chances I call them first chance because they never got a first chance all children from very early we need to identify What the areas of interest is and what is the aptitude and so we can channel them in the right direction Otherwise it is an unfair play in field because those who are interested in academics Obviously that's the environment that we send everybody into but those that have other interests and The other thing we do is we make the mistake of thinking because a person may not be interested in academics or because they may not do Well in the academics that they are slow So we stigmatize people as this but in more developed countries. There's a very high premium pay on To on technical skills very high and so we marginalize technical skills Marginalize schools like here and you know and the thing is for Children to go into, you know, everybody wants their children to be lawyers and doctors and what have you, you know, but Perhaps don't know people that recognize and understand that Technical skills are real skills because if you take a child as purely academic You put them in a in a technical environment. They'll be slow You understand, but we look at slow in terms of the other way and So now what so what OBM sought to do is to try to address some of these issues and we believe that if we if we Would if we were able to bring to bear or make available to poor children Even the average the average resources that that you know a normal child in secondary school have access to Then we believe that it would have made a difference and we still believe that today The reality is When children are not We cannot say that we provide in Equitable access for students when some of them can go into areas that they can excel in and others can't so With that with our very first cohort for OBM was a hundred boys we targeted a hundred boys from seven secondary schools in the north and It was essentially a pilot program and for me personally. I I never saw The OBM program. I always knew it was going to be successful because it logically just was and But I never envisaged OBM being something that sustainably DSSDF could run for a long period of time for me The goal the vision has always been for the Ministry of Education to adopt the concept and First to try to as a country to try to make available to All also all children at school the basic needs Meals transportation Uniforms books and what have you once we make this equal now There are other issues that go on in poor households and they are Summertime the simulations go on in in more affluent households The difference is that the more affluent households are better able to deal with it because they have the resources to try to You know have the children that doesn't obtain in the poor households So we thought that if we if we brought these resources to bear and what we found was immediately Within the first year of the program within the first few months the attendance rate had shot up tremendously because now One of the reasons that we're staying almost because they didn't have access to meals and what have you that had changed once children are interested and They have the resources to go to school then of course You the other thing that comes up would be their grades and we saw that So the good thing about it is when in the initial initial co-op with 100 about 40 of them went to care and I must say I'm very thankful that the Ministry of Education from the very beginning Through its support hundred percent behind this program as a matter of fact one of the first meetings we had of the Ministry of Education the Ministry was represented by Mr. C. Powell and He's very passionate about technical vocational that sort of stuff and he he told us very early on that He would be the voice of that program and the ministry did buy into it and up to now We still have the total support We were a little bit afraid that the ministry will be reluctant to transfer children from the traditional secondary schools Okay, but that didn't happen. They were very supportive and so a number of children got the opportunity to To go to care, but I want to make the point that the OBM is not about transfer insurance to care OBM is about trying to help children if Some of them have Interests in the arts and music then we want to help them in these areas You know we want to help children in the areas of their interest and for perhaps for the ministry I'm hoping that they'll be a Quantitative study done in Perical data to show demonstrate that it that that that process is successful So that it basically is but I want to say this too. I'm concerned in OBM There are things that also that make this a very good program. One is there's a steering committee comprising I Members from the organizations that sponsor and in this case Masi stores on new select And I want to thank Masi stores on new select for being the first major sponsors of OBM and today They still remain the biggest sponsors We thought we thought Masi stores there'd be no OBM Tell you that and you select jumped on board and together they did it and they still continue to assist but The other thing is We brought on board very early from from the inception once Masi stores has agreed With with our concept of the program. We agreed that we would bring on Well, I the first person I contacted is Miss Anthony watching Anthony, of course She's well-known educator former chief education officer and she's a tireless worker So she we brought on board and she helped with the further development of the program The SSDF has had we've had about maybe three we on to the third coordinator of OBM and The OBM team is very powerful. We have a number of our social officers that engage with the families directly because we recognize if you if I help a child a family that has two or three children and One I help them to send one child to school. What I'm so the others So how does a mother feel knowing that? What arms when they did the same school example and one has access to resources and the other one doesn't so So we try to to factor in the entire family to see how we can provide assistance to them And the other thing we do also another thing we do is we look at how was it in cases where the house Institution is really dire. We try to assist them there But one of the first things we do too. We try to take a look at what's going on in terms of the income in the house Is it if if the parents if the if the mother had whoever the breadwinner is if that person needs Training and capacity building we do that in some cases. We've gotten them involved in our micro enterprise programs, you know in some cases we bought We'd eat her or somebody wanted to make juice and things like that. So we try to assist them So so they can in turn You know you mentioned something they actually want you to speak on Like your what exactly is your micro enterprise program program? So that has a little history In earlier years at SSDF we we tackle the idea of a micro enterprise program everything has its time and I suppose You know at the time the then board and you know Wasn't perhaps wasn't been think that it was something that the ASSDF should should be doing however, I tackle it again and this time because Here's the deal. This is this is this is how our micro enterprise program works We partner with Bell fund on this so We provide the funding bell fund provides a training we pay for business officer that officer works through the Our BNTF our SSDF clients sorry right through until the loans are paid They get the maximum That we would lend them through bell fund would be ten thousand dollars at the time It was no interest we were viewing the no interest component of it now, but no interest and also We sought to differentiate a little bit from from bell funding that we do our primary focus is not in collecting Collecting rental payments that is important to us But what is more important to us is the survival of these businesses and so we recognize that some businesses grow A little slower than others and you know once we can establish a person is serious and they try and we work with them Especially through the business officer who visits them monthly You know to assist them with you know with the accounting processes and marketing and different ideas We've been able to Help a number of fact going into cove it. I think we had about 50-something businesses going and Covid affected a number of them just like it did the wider industry, but for those that were very serious We've continued Provided for the funding and I mean in the initial stages It was very nice to see some some of the business people They really wanted to pay off these loans like a right away and some of them did and in fact We had to be trying to tell them they need to you know Wanted them to we didn't want them to just put so much focus on paying off these loans and you know So you run into cash flow problems and stuff like that But they interest a lot of them dangerous and getting these loans paid and they were very committed to that The rationale for that because somebody may ask well, you know It's really an unsecured loan You know hate is you taking a chance of getting somebody ten thousand dollars to do a business They may not do anything and you have no recourse You can't go and take this and take that and the other but For me, I looked at it like this If we do not provide that assistance to them That's people that's clients that will continue to come to the SSDF every year for Assistants and if they have two of rich children that may very well add up very quickly to that ten thousand dollars so you say, okay, you take a chance on them and especially Because one of the one of the difficulties for clients going to bell fund is that they have to get three guarantors And that's always going to be a challenge for poor people, you know Middle-income people may may have challenges getting somebody to you know to to seek your own for them So we knew it was always going to be a challenge and who want to take a chance and guarantee a loan for somebody Especially they're unemployed, you know, so we took that chance on them and I can tell you It is it is successful. I mean we were doing like about 60% at least Our businesses were doing okay and from I'll say this if for me if you get 50% 60% of the businesses Become successful. I think that is good. I think that is good because it is providing One of the things with these small businesses is when they successfully going to hire the people and they grow on what have you so another strength of that program is it helps them to get a custom to Documenting and you know to making the deposits and what have you and so if they decide they want a loan for a high amount They can go to bell fund directly or they could go to the commercial banks because now they have a record of payments and history of payments So it's a very very useful program. I'm very good. We continue to do it We continue to run that program and I mean I hope it is a program that I think unless unless perhaps bell fund Adjusts their requirement for the six guarantee for the three guarantee or something then they'll always be need for somebody to deal with To provide assistance at a very bottom in terms of indigents and poverty Which would be the clients that we see now you have a lot of other very important programs obviously not just aimed at young people and then You Facilitating to be such facility facilitating people to be self-employed. Sorry. You have programs for parents called the national parenting program You also have a senior home givers program. I want you to talk a little bit about those programs Yes In terms the national parent the whole thrust for parenting again that was that's driven really a lot by By miss Antony and again that is one of the key pillars of Support under the old boys matter program because we recognize again one of the deficiencies one of the challenges faced by a lot of poor families is that a Lot of the parents that they lack the parenting skills necessary for them to you know I'll give you an example even Even the understanding of the importance of getting involved one of our challenges is getting the parents to be involved in the children now Again with persons of affluence a lot of times you see them You know taking the children are taking the children are taking them to activities and you know and helping them at home It's cool work and all kinds of things like that you find in a Single mother for example if how many children probably trying to to do how you know work She doesn't have a lot of time to you know to focus on on on the children and you know parenting but Parenting is a critical role. And so We we try to equip them we provide training workshops and it is very warmly embraced by them I must say that the persons that participate they enjoy the training some of it is done by miss Antony again and But there's a lot of enthusiasm for for it in the workshops And we think that goes a long way in helping Helping some of these big persons that we assist in terms of the challenges that the chair of reason children Which is central to a lot of the issues that we have going on that make the issues we are going on in our society Not just in boys, but it goes also and the senior Homecare give us program. That's about that one The home care givers program has a long history and it has gone from one administration to the next is called something else That program really started initially at the SSDF under the Stevenson King administration We had home care givers under the whole program or back in the days. Hope you still get a lot of money, you know So one of the things that we did under the then ed mr. Dr. Henry was the idea at the time and So we had we had not as large as it is now But we had a number of persons and the idea was for them to go out and in some cases Just to to talk and you know, because there are a lot of there are a lot of older people that live alone and they don't see anybody for you know for a long period of time and Sometimes all they want is for somebody sit and talk to them and you know, this thing is just so straight very It's a strange from a phenomena in that even when I remember one time in the early stages when we ran out of funding the caregivers continued to go and Visit their clients, you know, so they had established that relationship that human relationship now the program is very big probably have about Have about over 600 clients and over 400 workers in the field It's a very big program as you can understand and and they provide, you know invaluable service to another person's in need The other thing the program did and it does to is provides Sometimes things like pumpers cleaning supplies, you know, because sometimes some people again The most of all persons we target are poor persons. So sometimes the conditions under which they live, you know They don't have clean and supply. Sometimes they don't have food. They don't have pumpers and things like that. So The program seeks to provide that sort of assistance to them and It is like I say, it is a big a very big program it was run conducted under the nice program after After the initial days of it and then of course now It is now what you call the home care program But you know, the whole concept has been the same and it is something that look less We said I mean at the end of the day government will always have a responsibility to take care of Older persons that cannot take care themselves Society when I say government I'm talking By extension people of St. Lucia Or any country for that matter. There are some people that cannot take care themselves And we have no choice but to take care of them. It's just the human thing to do And I think that is a responsibility. I'm happy to see that that the governments of St. Lucia have, you know Recognized and put in the resources and you can well imagine it as a very costly program Very very costly and so You know, they even the government has invested and it continues to invest in it, I should say Now you I Obviously you would need a lot of training. I suppose to deal with With seniors in the home. I understand that you had training for the home caregivers I think that ended in in in the end of June this year. Could you talk about that? Yes. Yes. Yes, and it's critical because Let's put it this way There are a number of factors there. So you have issues that You're going into a person's home the private space and you'd appreciate a lot of persons that That would probably apply for these jobs do not have the necessary training So training is ongoing by the way so It is periodic we we keep on you know training because we know Since we want persons to be constantly reminded and sure that they continue to do what they're supposed to do in terms of taking care of the clients and So we continue to do that also the We take very seriously the business of training of the supervisors Because the supervisors of these workers also need to be trained in order to effectively manage them in the field. You'd appreciate that Unlike a business normal business where you have a building and you're all you know on the floor space and you have persons being supervised by one Out there is very different. The head is you have maybe you have one supervisor In a country of we have about Maybe probably about 25 supervisors all together for 17 constituencies and If you just look at it look at the numbers 17 supervisors Supervising over 400 people it tells you that is the You know the spanner control is huge. You know, so they need to be properly equipped skilled so that they can They can supervise these persons and then you're talking about again managing people different personalities different attitudes and what have you So that is very challenging So we also undertake the supervisory training That was also done recently And with regard to the other training specialized training we have nurses That get involved in natural training So that they teach the clients, you know our our workers how to how to deal with you know, how to take care of the elderly Okay, we're coming very close to the end of the program So I just want you to is there anything that we may have missed anything else you want to address before we go off air? resource mobilization Is key and I will say this it gave both to obm but it also gave both to a critical link with the diaspora that has served us very well Coming out of a resource mobilization effort when we started to target the private sector and realize that things will You know, we're not going as we as we would have liked We decided, you know, I got some contacts with I knew having lived in the u.s. For some time that we have solution associations overseas What I didn't know at the time was that there was an umbrella body called the usloa union of solutions living overseas and They operate in canada the u.s. And the uk As a matter of fact every two years every every two years. They have the biannual convention and and what they do is they seek to to they come together because They the chapters in the various countries set up to try to assist um, they Solutions for example, you said the way in the in the in the various countries and also the solution by extension um So once we got that link and at the time, um, it was roscadas mr roscadas was the president of usloa Also facilitated by the time by minister siri flood bowler We were invited this as they were invited to Address to make a presentation to the usloa In the uk and is it 2019? 28 Anyway, so we went and made that presentation and let me tell you they were really They were fascinated they they indicated that they couldn't believe that there was an organization like the ssdf in st lusia and they had never heard anything about it they were particularly pleased because To them Here was an opportunity now for them to make meaningful contributions to st lusia because Outside of you know, somebody sent an uslo help. They don't know what they know what it was going to Where it was legit, but to have an organization that was you know, a governmental organization that was not Essentially part of a ministry You know, so they were very happy coming out of that. Um They were very enthusiastic. I made the presentation myself and they were very very pleased with it And um, I mean even come on coming out. They were ready to to to join us and act coming out of that. Um It was a decision to set up an mo you Between the uslo a and and ssdf for us to establish a Thrift shop, although we wouldn't call it a thrift shop To establish a thrift of thrift up in st lusia with the supplies being coming from from the The three Three countries It sounds like there's a lot left to talk about Yes, um, but we'll have to discuss it on another program because we've come to the end of this one I want to thank you very much for coming on our program. I hope you will be back another time to speak more about the ssdf Almost definitely. Thank you. You're watching issues and answers. I'm your host jacking sincompton. Thank you for watching We'll be back next time