A living testimony of a millionaire dying from diabetes

Diabetes claimed the life of a millionaire.

PNG 100 kina note money

This is a true-life story of a son of a subsistence farmer who worked tirelessly to save money and fulfill his dream of becoming a millionaire. However, in the pursuit of wealth, he neglected his health and ultimately fell victim to diabetes. He was unable to enjoy the fruits of his labor as it all disappeared into the darkness.

The mind of a dying diabetic patient is filled with regret and reflection.

"I put in so much effort to achieve my dream."

"I invested strategically and accomplished my goals."

"I took care of my family and helped others in need."

"I reached the pinnacle of success and became a millionaire."

"Now, I can confidently call myself a millionaire."

PNG 20 kina note money

"Because I have over 20 million kina in my bank account."

But...

"I forgot about myself."

"I never invested in my own health."

"I only ate cheap food to save money."

"I didn't realize the importance of taking care of myself."

"I never traveled and enjoyed the rewards of my hard work."

"Just look at my amputated leg."

"I am disabled, a result of my own choices."

"I never imagined I would end up like this."

"Now, I am facing death in my own eyes."

"I am constantly battling with the weight of my impending death."

"Day and night, I'm consumed by thoughts of the money in my bank account."

"I never had the chance to fully enjoy the money I worked so hard to save."

"I should have traveled the world, embraced life, but it's too late for me."

"I was born with nothing, worked hard to save, but it has all been wasted."

"I have truly wasted my life and gained nothing."

The lesson to be learned from this story is that diabetes is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and it is rapidly becoming a major health issue in Papua New Guinea. It is debilitating people and disrupting their families.

In present-day Papua New Guinea, there is an abundance of fresh produce and local food available at markets. People should focus on consuming food from these local sources rather than relying on processed foods high in sugar and salt.

Here are some steps that can be taken for prevention:

- Avoid adding sugar to foods and drinks

- Limit consumption of sugary drinks

- Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables

- Engage in daily exercise for at least 30 minutes

- Make sure to eat a balanced diet

- Include nuts, vegetables, and greens in your meals

- Drink plenty of water every day

- Reduce alcohol consumption

It is important to prioritize your health and well-being over the pursuit of material wealth. Take care of yourself to stay fit, strong, and healthy at all times.

Knowing the Tuberculosis Facts

What is TB? 

TB stands for tuberculosis and its caused by bacteria [(Mycobacterium tuberculosis)

How does TB spread from one person to another?

Following are two ways TB can be transmitted from one person to another.

Droplets
TB spread like flue droplets expelled by an infected person to a healthy person.

TB spread from frequent social contact with an infected person

Workplace

TB can spread in the workplace where workers are in an isolated environment. The frequent exposure and contact with an infected TB patient, the healthy person can get infected with TB.

Living in the same house
The family of an infected person are at a greater risk of TB infection because of the daily close contact.

A large number of people living together
In education institutions, prison camp, health facilities or places where lots of people live has high chances that TB can spread from an infected person to a healthy person.

Poor personal hygiene

TB spreads from droplets and if the infected TB patient practice poor personal hygiene can aid the spread of TB infection.

During intimacy relationship

There is a high chance of TB spread during intimate relationships with loved ones.

Signs and symptoms

• Continuous coughs for more than 14 days
• Cough up blood & chest pain
• Loss of weight 
• Night sweating
• Fever & Weakness
• Dropping weight no other reasons
• Not eating well
• Lack of energy

How will you know your status?

The only way to clear from TB is through a TB test. So, see your doctor if you have some of the above symptoms.

Prevention 

1. Faithfully to your treatment as per prescribed by a doctor [infected TB patients]
2. Cover your mouth with tissues when coughing [infected TB patients]
3. Wash hands after coughing [infected TB patients]
4. Wash hands after shaking hands with another person [healthy person]
5. Stay away from infected TB patients [healthy person]
6. General TB education & awareness
7. Get TB vaccine

How to lose weight fast.

There is no magic way to lose weight, and you do not need to read all the weight loss books or hire professional therapists to support you.

Is your weight putting your health at risk? Or, you want to keep your weight at a healthy range so that you are fit and healthy.

If yes!

Firstly, you must have the motivation to lose weight figure#. If you do not have the drive to reduce your weight to a healthy range, you will not achieve your dream.  Most people come halfway then fallout running to the finishing line.

The goal of losing weight needs your time; your commitment; your patience;  interest and all above a driving factor – motivation.

So, ask yourself!

What is your motivation to lose weight?

The number one motivational factor is to stay fit and healthy, which will have a direct impact on overall health conditions like diabetes, heart diseases, backaches, overweight, knee aches, and other medical illnesses (image f#2).

Now you have a solid ground to kick start the weight loss program. However, the decision to stay focused is most crucial. Once the decision has been reached, the commitment is of necessity so that you are not driven away from your line. 

If the motivation is driven by an external force, then you are unlikely to finish the line. You just read some articles, or your best friend is in running so you want to take the field with him/her. Remember! You are not living a copy-paste life, but living upon your principles and ethics.

If your weight is not touching your nervous ending, (I mean feeling pain), then, I am sorry, you are not in the race to lose your weight.

 Losing weight tips

(1). Controlling the traffic.
A very simple step one can take is to control the traffic! Full STOP and the weight will come down.

What is traffic? Your mouth  (imagef#1) is the traffic junction where ALL the foods go into your body.  If you can't control the gate by eating oversize foods, then, you are not on the road to losing weight.

Portion control

The number one step in controlling the traffic is ‘eating the right size than oversized’. If you can take portion control size meals daily, then you are on the right track to achieving your goal of losing weight (image#2). 

For example;

Breakfast: 

Eat small during the morning.

Lunch: 

Eat light meals like fruits or nuts at lunch.

Dinner: 

Eat a portion control diet in the evening.

The reason for eating light meals like fruit, or vegetables, or nuts between breakfast, lunch and dinner is a weight loss game not going hungry. The trick of eating light meals is simply to prevent the temptation of eating an oversize diet.

(3). Allocate a time for exercise.

Do you have time? If yes, allocate yourself at least 60 minutes per day to burn off your weight in the field.

Exercise is the most powerful strategy to burn out your weight quickly. If you are fully committed to controlling the traffic, portion control meals and exercise, you are on the right track to achieving a positive result (image#3).

What type of exercise is good for weight loss? Any exercise therapy that suits you can help reduce your weight.

For example, fast walking exercise down the road for 60 minutes every day is still the super way to lose weight.

There is no particular exercise program that can help you lose weight. Whatever exercise program fits your conditions, engage in it. Do not follow others ways as your ways are not their ways

(4). Stop carbohydrate foods and drinks.
While you are on the weight loss program, you must stop taking in carbohydrate foods and drinks. Most of these foods, and soft drinks (including beer) will increase weight.  It is highly recommended you completely stop crabs.

TAKE-HOME POINT:
• Formula for losing weight: “Eat less and burn out more”.

LIVING A HAPPY LIFE TIPS.

We cannot buy happiness but we can create happiness for our lives. The happiness in life is not found outside of our life but inside of self. The things that comes from others are not worth to those that we find through our pain.

We go to school, get educated, then find jobs, earn money and become whatever we want to be in life. We can buy best gifts for ourselves but they do not worth the real happiness. All these reward us a temporary happiness but true happiness comes from within our hearts.

When our lives are blanketed with full of happiness, we can conquer the whole world. Your money, wealth, education, and all you have will not give you the true happiness you need, but real happiness is find in the quality of living  a healthy life.

Do you take all your wealth into the sickbed? No! The happiness all the wealth gives remains to itself and you are alone in the sick bed. Literally, the world is simply departing from your presence. Why? Because the earthly materials only cares and supports the living souls only.

If you are living in the material world, I encourage you to return back and reflect on the true meaning of living a life.

All the glory of this world was first created by GOD for you and me. GOD did not create man first, but it was earthly materials things so that they can support the human life that came after the earthly things

So, do not run after wealth of this world. Our first effort is to ensure we work hard to secure a healthy happy life, then, the world is yours. The worldly materials go for living souls and not the death people. Have you seen deaths coming back to life and work for living? If no, then, work hard to live longer on this earth so that all will be added unto you.

The following are living a healthy happy life tips:

(1).Active physical exercise.

Couple doing exercise.

It is highly recommended 60 minutes physical exercise for four days a week to improve the quality of life.


The physical exercise has many benefits that includes re-shaping your mindset for positive outlook; re-energize and re-focus your energy; you feel better and happy about yourself; and improve the overall quality of your life.

 (2).Eat fruit & vegetables.

Strawberry @Goroka market.

The fruits contains lots of vitamins and eating lots of fruits and vegetables can boost your immunity systems and improve the overall health.

(3). Drink water.
Drinking plenty of water as per your body's weight to maintain your body temperature and support body functions.  The water is very important for the survival of body cells and tissues. Going without water cause server health problems as well as fatal.

(4).Eat healthy food but right size.

Right food size.

Eating oversize good food can have negative health consequence, that is why eating right size from a good food directly maintain good health.

The health educators inspire people to eat balance diet three times a day. Off course not human beings eat bad foods. We all eat good food choices. 

However, the problem is the size of the food. Therefore, this piece of educational information encourages people, ‘always eat good foods’ but ‘right size’ and ‘not oversize’. Eating a small amount of healthy food makes your stomach not full, but makes you feel smart and confident of completing your daily tasks effectively.

For example: eating chicken is good for health. Chicken is a food that builds our muscles and body tissues. Although it’s good for health, that does not give a man a right to eat a plate full of chicken meats. Eating too much chicken can contribute to poor health outcomes like building up cholesterol that can lead to heart diseases.

Hence, good food with the right size choice is the best decision for a healthy happy life.

(5). Get  6 – 8 hours of sleep per night ( healthy sleep image f#[iv]).

Healthy sleep.

After the machines are used, they must return to the service station for maintenance. So as our bodies, after the day’s use, it requires quality maintenance.

So, sleep is the only thing that can fully restore the body’s day use.  Without enough hours of sleep, the body relinquishes, thus resulting in many health conditions like tiredness. Poor sleep can lead to fatigue and put lives at greater risk.

TAKE HOME POINTS:
• Wealth will automatically added up to living souls and not the death ones.
• So, work hard to secure a healthy happy life.

Easy ways to prevention malaria in the remote villages

According to World Health Organization [WHO], In 2018, there were an estimated 228 million cases of malaria worldwide. 405 000 people died from malaria in 2018, children under five years were highly vulnerable”.  Malaria is the leading cause of death around the world and costs a significant national budget and according to WHO $2.7 billion.

Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasites.  the mode of transmission is infected female Anopheles mosquitoes biting healthy people. In this way, it transmits the plasmodium parasites from one person to another.

The mosquitoes find their way into the human environment only if human makes the environment conducive for them to live and reproduce.  Therefore, we mankind must not divert from simple but powerful ways of fighting mosquitoes.

If you want to fight mosquitoes, fight by way of making them insecure environments within your settings. Making the environment conducive, the mosquitoes feel safe to multiply and increase in population. When they are in numbers, they spread within the communities spreading the infection.    

So, where there are no health workers, the followings are some of the simplest but most powerful ways to put critical control measures to prevent infected female anopheles’ mosquitoes from transmitting the infection.

Lowering the tall grassland and clearing the tall bushy trees.

Within the vicinity of the community, the entire communities should work together lower the grassland. In the tall grassland, the mosquitoes can make a home there and lay their eggs and multiply in number. Under the shade trees and grassland, the mosquitoes find it safe to inhabit there. When the grassland and bushy trees are cleared, the area is now exposed to sunlight, as mosquitoes feel insecure about making their homes.  

Refilling the drains/water holes [etc.].

The mosquito lay their eggs in the drains, small water holes, in containers, small lakes, and swamps. So, the best prevention method is to drain out the water holes, lakes, swamps, opening both sides of the empty tins before throwing them into the dump. In this way, the mosquitoes do not have a safe home to live and reproduce their population.  Any sitting water must be drained out so that it becomes dry land.

Rubbish dump.

All the empty tins or containers must be open on both sides, then throw into the rubbish dump. The dump must be deep as mosquitoes cannot travel down into the dump to make a home. The mosquitoes are known how to choose a good home, and a dump is not a place to make a home.

Sleeping in treated mosquitoes nets.

If families can afford it, everyone including pregnant mothers, infants, kids and even adults, all should sleep in the treated mosquito nets.

Papua New Guinea buai Chewers are financially drained

Betel nut, in Melanesian Tok-Pisin it's called buai. It's a seed, covered with hard skin/cover. It's grown on an areca palm tree.

Chewing buai or betel nut is a tradition in Papua New Guinea, especially in three regions, namely MOMASE, Island and Papua/southern regions. It’s a generation pass on practice and continuing to date. 

In the highland’s region, chewing buai was not commonly practice.  It was introduced by three regions, and now they have huge buai trading at the grassroots level.  The Highlanders travel to three regions to buy buai and ship them to the highlands region.

The buai has advantages and disadvantages.

The good side of Buai /Betel nut.

In all social gatherings especially in three regions, buai is a must part of the social gathering. Buai infuse the energy,  vibe that enriches the social gathering spirit.

The people share buai to establish friendships with nearby or other communities. Buai opens the dialogue of friendship and goodwill.

F1 image.

Chewing buai culture ignites social fun, many storytellings and, it’s a form of social stress relief way of life.

It brings families and friends together to share their feelings being togetherness. Like in the western world, a cup of coffee generates business ideas, establish business contacts, networking, and friendship of people of different social background, so in Papua New Guinea buai plays similar social roles. Buai builds and strengthens friendships.

F2 image.

F3 image .

For the buai farmers, it’s a form of

 income for the families. The farmer sells buai to the wholesale buyers, then they sell them to retailers. It’s a huge business at the grassroots level, Buai is a cash economy and it's the fastest-selling product in the local market.

The bad side of Buai/Betel nut.

Albeit buai has a good side of the story but it also has its bad sides as well.

Buai can cause mouth cancer buai-blamed-for-cancer/, heart attack, gum decay, peptic ulcer high blood pressure (etc.) all in all, buai has caused significant health risks to chewers.  

Buai contributes to poor self and environmental hygiene. Many chewers have bad personal hygiene like dirty teeth, buai stained clothes. The chewers without care spite red buai out causing changes in the public

infrastructures like buildings, road, noticeboard (etc.). The buai skin or the hardcovers adds too much rubbish on the streets. The people’s attitude in chewing buai can shift government development funding priority to clean up the mess created by buai chewers.

Lots of people spend lots of money on buai. Many people said they are spending PGK10.00 to

PGK20 per day. Sometimes these can increase given with extended family members during chewing buai time. So, if someone is spending PGK10.00 on daily basis, in a year he can spend up to PGK3,650.00, so in ten years it will be PGK36,600.00.

A person can work out how much they spend on buai in a year. Chewers never go for holiday chewing buai, every day they chew. Therefore, to understand how much one spends should multiply by 365 days in a year and that’s how one spends on such a bad social habit.

Chewers outlook is always not appealing, so it's highly likely to affect the relationship with co-workers. Buai habits can reduce chances of job promotions or getting new getting a job.

Buai can drain all our money and make us poor and financially dry all the time.

Five steps in counselling session

In the counselling room, there are two people, sometimes it can be more than two people, which we call group counselling session. The clients bring in their stories to speak to the psychotherapists.  The psychotherapists guide the clients through five steps to talk over their issues and while psychotherapists use various micro counselling skills to stimulate the clients to open up their darkness.

• Open the session.

Open the session is to facilitate the session. To open the door, you need a key to do that, so to open the darkness of someone’s life, it needs someone trained to ignite the session to set the pace.

The highly effective session is achieved through the establishment of building rapport. The psychotherapists welcome the clients and help the clients become custom to the new environment. In this way, it helps the clients feel welcomed, thus settles in that space.  By doing so the psychotherapists create a safe, comfortable and secure environment so that the clients freely express themselves.

The psychotherapists must assure the client's confidentiality of the information the clients are about to share as it’s privileged information.

• Hearing the story.

The clients are asked to speak the reason for being there while the counsellors are attentively hearing their stories.  The counsellors attend, question and reflect on their stories thus gathers all the information presented to draw out their stories, worries, troubles which will help them set their platform for change.  

The counsellors apply various counselling micro-skills to help clients profoundly express themselves to empty themselves.  When all has been released to open space, the clients feel relief about it as someone has heard their stories.

• Prioritizing primary concerns.

After the information is gathered, the psychotherapists and the clients collaboratively assess and agree on the main issues from the client’s stories.

When the main issues are identified and established, now the psychotherapists and the clients categorize them into the order of importance so that both are focused and work towards the changes.

• Working on change.

The psychotherapists and clients collaboratively work on ways to bring about changes to the main issues that have emerged from the stories.

Here, psychotherapists and clients develop action plans which the clients can work on to bring about change in his or her life. The small steps they take contributes to a bigger scale of change.

The clients must work on the plans that have been drawn out so that they can experience the changes in their life.

• Close the session.

Before allowing the clients to re-enter the outside world, the clients may feel vulnerable after sharing their dark side, so to help them feel secure, the psychotherapist ties together the overall session and provide support information for the next step.