Open Your Eyes

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:06]Open your eyes is brought to you by the Bise Bank. Our country, your bank and smart, bringing people together.

[00:00:48]Live from the GBM studios in Bise City, it's Open Your Eyes, Start Your Morning Right with your hosts Sabrina Dailyaly and Paul Lopez.

[00:01:06]>> Good morning and welcome to Open Your Eyes.

[00:01:09]>> Start your morning right.

[00:01:10]>> I'm Sabrina Dailyaly >> and I'm Paul Lopez >> and good morning Paul. How you doing?

[00:01:16]>> I am doing fine. It is Thursday, May 21st. That's right.

[00:01:21]>> It's uh it's a blessed morning. The sun is shining. Uh the wind is blowing and uh we're alive. We're happy to be alive this morning.

[00:01:29]>> Yeah, I'm I'm definitely feeling uh the Thursday morning this morning. It feels like what you would call back in the day Friday Junior, right?

[00:01:36]>> I still call it I still call it that.

[00:01:38]>> I feel like we don't say that often though. Often enough. I think cuz most most of these days that Thursday felt like Thursday and not necessarily Friday Junior.

[00:01:47]>> But today it feels like Friday Junior.

[00:01:49]And I hope for you guys it also feels the same way as we head on into the weekend. Now, we have some wonderful uh conversations lined up. Paul, what you got for us?

[00:01:58]>> Yeah, so we have four conversations lined up. What I'm going to do now is I'm going to move over to the screen.

[00:02:03]You all can join me in. So, there's been a lot of talks about uh helmets and uh helmet regulations where motorcycles are concerned. So this morning we're going to be joined by CEO in the Ministry of uh transport, none other than uh Chester Williams and uh just a slew of other uh guests that will be on to talk about Biz's helmet regulations and safety training. So you definitely want to stay tuned to that conversation. Right. And in our second conversation, it's all about recognizing the early warning signs of autoimmune disease with the BISE healthc care partners. And then thirdly, we're stepping together in the fight against cancer. You definitely don't want to stay locked into that conversation. And last, but certainly not least, why do bees matter? Well, we'll be we'll be on set celebrating World Bees Day in a very engaging and interesting conversation. So, all of this you can look forward to in this morning's uh show. But before we get into all of that, we do have our five topics that we discuss uh at the start of uh the show and I'm going to turn it over to Sabrina and she's going to give us those details.

[00:03:25]>> All right, Paul, thank you very much for that. And really it's for this morning, but we want to engage you guys in these topics that we think you should know before you leave your homes this morning. Starting off with the obvious.

[00:03:36]I know a lot right know to feel like gas pain. You know it's bad when they say that premium more uh well when premium is cheaper than regular gasoline. And so we'll be talking about that in our first topic um for some of the things we think you should know. Also we also want to get back into that conversation of what's taking place in Placencia. the Placencia Lagoon. They are putting out another statement and I believe now the Bise Tourism Industry Association is also a part of the conversation. And then after 24 years, the Bise Central Prison gets a new CEO. And so we are saying goodbye to Verilio Morio and bringing in a new face leading the prison. And then now this one's a huge one. Paul, it's time for K TV. Your Tuesday nights are soon to come back.

[00:04:23]that Tuesday night tradition in the households where KTV takes over BISE.

[00:04:28]Auditions are set to open and so we're also going to be talking about that. Now Paul, let's jump into that uh gas prices. I think it took a lot of us by surprise but also not so much really.

[00:04:39]Yeah, certainly, Sabrina. And just to add one more to the list, we're going to uh also be discussing a bit about the municipal elections and um how things are heating up over there with the municipals and but certainly the gas prices. It um it's been the talk of the town and there is perhaps a lot to say about um how the prices have been fluctuating. Mhm.

[00:05:06]>> Uh yesterday we saw the prices at the pumps here in uh Bise City and one of the things we noted for sure is that the price uh uh premium >> is now cheaper >> is now cheaper than regular. Is that is that what we're seeing? So we're seeing that the price of premium is now cheaper than regular.

[00:05:31]>> Are you a regular or premium?

[00:05:32]>> I am a regular purchaser. Right. So there still needs to be a bit more explanation into why that is the case.

[00:05:42]But what I found yesterday, what I found very interesting. Um I delved deep into some numbers to try and better understand how prices um what factors into the prices we pay at the pumps. And lo and behold, if the data is to be believed, the main driver of uh the cost and the increases um is in fact the landed cost. Mhm.

[00:06:16]>> How much this fuel cost when it reaches the ports? How much uh we have to pay for it when it reaches the port based on data from January to today's date. That number has almost doubled. In fact, it looks as if it has doubled from 48 485 to now >> 812.

[00:06:40]>> 812, right? So to almost doubled. So it is almost in the government's defense right when the prime minister gets up and says Paul why you ask me such a question um you know see what happened across the world with the war you see what happened with global prices >> well when you look at the data it reflects that that the price that we're paying that they're paying to purchase it to bring it into country has almost doubled and even further to the more to the government's uh defense and to qualify or or or to prove a point that they're making and is it's that from January to now taxes which is another factor government taxes that influence prices has actually gone down. So government's tax stake went down from $5 and something in January when they were actually when the prices are actually low to $4 change here in April when the prices are higher. So when the prime minister again comes and says um yes, we've been cutting taxes on fuel. we don't charge as much taxes as we did um when things were good and we ask for the numbers. Well, to to his defense, if the data is to be believed and this is from the Ministry of Finance uh website, taxes their tax stake has decreased by $1.

[00:08:24]Right? So, those are two things I found interesting. But now there's a scenario where the margins the commercial margins for and the commercial margins are basically >> that's like the profit for the people for the dealers the profits for the dealers the profits for the delivery man the lemon delivery man make that also gets factored into the cost of a fuel.

[00:08:49]under here understand how much things get factored into it and this the way we pay right this why we pay what we pay whether the price is lower the price is high then things get factored into it but there's a situation now where dealers are reportedly saying that they essentially the government unilaterally made a decision to reduce their margins to reduce their profits to reduce their takes from their take from um from the equation from the formula and they're not happy about that and the prime minister has said he's willing to meet with them. On the flip side, there's a conversation being had about whether or not the government can the Britain administration can possibly decrease its tax even further. So we've seen where they're they've gone down in terms of tax take on uh fuel by almost a dollar in many cases. And we looked specifically at premium yesterday.

[00:09:55]But people are comparing what the Brazilian administration is doing to what the UDP administration did in 2012 under um the bar brow prime minister Barrow's leadership and people are saying well if you look at the prices then we were almost we we peaked at almost $13 a gallon and at that time the landed cost was similar to the and the cost we're seeing now. It was almost $8 then it's over $8 now. Similar but uh a bit less.

[00:10:32]Yet the tax stake under in that period under uh the Barrow administration was under $4. It was $3 change. People are saying, well, if there's some similarities, why is it that the Briten administration cannot decrease its stock stake even farther and perhaps bring the fuel prices down to $13 uh thereabout?

[00:10:57]My thing is I think at this point, Sabrina, I don't know. I drive I don't know um how you feel about it, but I'm thinking if gas prices go up any farther, man, this this is going to hurt. It's hurting right now. Whenever I go to the pump, it's like every time I I I put in fuel, whenever I go to the pump, I'm like I feel like it just never it never got to that amount where it used to go to. And my question this morning to our viewers uh would be how much on average on spend pancas monthly.

[00:11:31]I think that's the question. We also want to find out whether people are spending more or spending less or keeping the same amount as a result of the rise in fuel prices. Well, I know that the prime minister mentioned that they are losing roughly about $80 million um with the reduced taxes that is taking place here and this is in an effort to not cut into other social programs that they have in place like um NHI, like education and housing and even um food, the grocery rag program that they also have. But Paul, this is getting scary. I mean, it's already scary, but it's getting even more scary when we think of the fact that it's still very much early. And um I don't know if we've seen enough in history that that prices of gasoline would go down to where we once um enjoyed them to be paying $14 in Punta Gorda. $15, Paul, if it's set to go any higher than $15. I don't know what I would do. you know, I think of people who have to commute, who don't have the option to catch the bus, and they have to find other means to to get from point A to point B uh for the necessity for for the necessity like going to work. Um I think of families who are trying to uh stretch their dollar at this time. And I go back to the social programs that I mentioned because at what point will we see that that $80 million, they just won't be able to to handle that and then they will have to jump into these other social programs. what will we do then?

[00:12:59]Um, I also think of the conversation that we had yesterday with the opposition leader and leader of the UDP and she mentioned that, you know, with the state of uh the country and and and where it's getting with even the gas prices, we might be seeing situations where you either have or you don't have.

[00:13:14]Um, and that's a really scary place to be. Uh, so I I don't know what we're going to do, Paul, but I think this is time that we start to try to even give our own suggestions on how to cut back and save more.

[00:13:25]>> Yeah. Well, this is where we look to our leaders for answers um in part and uh in my uh humble opinion, I think that the government of BISE uh can be a bit more flexible and I'm not uh no economist. Uh I just think that uh compared to uh history and what we've seen with prices that perhaps the government can be a bit more flexible with in terms of decreasing its tax stake um at this point in time. Right. Uh it's it's just the circumstance uh uh that we're living living in at this time that may um we may see the need for that at this point.

[00:14:07]Yeah. So, we'll continue to monitor it uh and uh definitely continue to report on the developments where fuel prices are concerned.

[00:14:15]>> Yeah. And and if they do continue to raise the fuel taxes, are there other areas that we can see some relief as well? Perhaps that's a conversation that we could have. We know that um in certain sectors they've been able to get um uh support like the transportation industry. Um but people in general still need that. people who do not uh run on the uh transportation the public transportation sector uh people who drive their own vehicles, what will they do? We don't get stipens from our work to try to get to work. Um and so I'm hoping that that's a conversation that we can also have. But let's move things along. Paul, I want to jump into the municipal elections excitement that's currently taking place. I know that there's been um a few topics and a few names being uh jumped out for the POP administration side. We know that the uh current deputy mayor Alude Miller has been endorsed by the mayor of Bise City.

[00:15:09]Um we also hear that uh the former deputy mayor Alan Pard is also interested and now even the uh city administrator uh there's also uh word through the grape vine uh that she has also expressed interest as well. I believe based on the press conference that was held two days ago from the United Democratic Party, they are still keeping uh their cards close to their chest saying that they will strike when the iron is hot. But I think um I think it's probably a smart move for them because we're hearing a little bit of drama right now with the PUP and and I I I heard some real extreme uh news yesterday and I'm not going to repeat it because we don't know how true it is.

[00:15:48]Um, but it seems like there's a lot of mischief being made right now and that comes with the election season, I think.

[00:15:56]Uh, and so I know that it's definitely going to be one of those municipal elections that we will be paying close attention to. We have new faces, young blood as well, uh, uh, youth faces, and I think that's something to be excited about. And I would like to ask our our audience, who do you all see as the uh most viable candidates in your municipality at this point in time if you live within a city or a town or which party do you think is the most viable at this point in time if you live in a city or a town? Uh one of the things we learned uh I think from the 2024 municipals and the 2025 gen um general elections is that youth voices are important. Yeah.

[00:16:46]>> In these uh conversations uh at this uh point in time. Youth voices are important at the governance level. Youth voices are important in the campaign. um uh in in terms of your campaign strategy, youth voices are important especially on social media. So it's in my view very strategic and a good look to see two young faces.

[00:17:15]one who has definitely confirmed publicly his interest by way of Elwood Miller in Bise City and Alan Pard who is reportedly also uh desirous of uh filling the position but we haven't seen anything publicly from him and then there were conversations about Candice uh piss the city administrator but youth voices that's where in my view the focus should be uh where uh when it comes to these political parties and their push for candidates. In the United Democratic Party, we saw Kerwick Samuels, I think that's his name, he took the lead at the uh press conference as MC >> and the United Democratic Party framed it as a foreshadowing >> to say, you see this youth, this is what we're going for, right? because I think they they're reading the room and they're understanding that youth voices are taking the lead, young people are taking the lead and we need to ensure that um young people are represented at the municipal level in these coming elections and it is a good strategy because we have a young population and it is high time we we use that and it is high time we get rid of a lot of these old faces and old heads. Where the United Democratic Party perhaps falls a bit short is in the area of uh youth in my view in that the people that are most uh forward and the people that are front and center >> are those individuals that we've seen in the party for a very long time. Right. when you think veterans, when you think of uh the leader, when you think of the lead senator and and and you know, and the list goes on. And so, in my view, they have a more uphill battle at this point in time. Not saying it's impossible to present more youth faces and youth voices that people can have confidence in and that they're willing to throw their vote behind. And that will take time. So it is important that they get on that and that they do that and that they make those individuals public and that they make those names public. Yeah.

[00:19:43]early when the iron are hot because it's a strike when the iron hot when the iron are hot. You can't hat five, four, three months before the iron have to hat early so that it only continues to heat up and the conversations only continue to build around those candidates and confidence continues to build around those candidates in my view because if the United Democ's united party gets ahead of them and lists out their candidates for each municipality then people might lock in their answer. people might lock in their vote from very early while the United Democratic Party sits back and wait for the iron is hot for them to strike.

[00:20:22]>> Yeah, I see some comments. Uh I see uh Brighton Cod saying here that a municipal election debate would be a welcomed addition this cycle. After all, it would be unfortunate if the first time we learn how our candidates think was after they were elected. And I think that's an excellent idea. I want to go back though to what you were pointing out about uh youth voices and I think that the uh POP administration has done a really good job with pushing young people at the front. We see that especially with the Bise City Council um with their youth shadow council program that they've had having uh Alan Pard as one of the youngest municipal leaders at the time being the um the deputy mayor um then having Alude Miller also being very young as well. It kind of takes me back to when we would talk about Patrick Fabber in his um earlier years, right?

[00:21:11]>> Just came to mind.

[00:21:12]>> And so I think that the UDP should definitely take advantage of this type of direction that the PUP is going. We also have um a large voting body that are made up of young people too. And so this is uh an opportunity that I think that they should be taken advantage of.

[00:21:27]Um but I want to jump into some of the other comments section that I forgot to mention. Um going to the gas conversation. And I see Esther Courtney Weatherburn saying, "Sabrina and Paul, if I'm telling you this, I'm not lying, but I'm tired. Last week, I went to fold my to fold my tank yesterday. I put some more gas."

[00:21:47]>> Mhm.

[00:21:48]>> Okay. I went to fold my tank, then I put more gas yesterday. This is ridiculous.

[00:21:54]Um, April said here, "I can't remember the last time I put $50 in my vehicle and saw the needle move." Girl, >> I feel that. Tyler Smith said, "I used to do $100, but now 120 is my gas budget every two weeks, and that's because I run a strict program. I got st I go straight from home to work. I don't offer rides. Sorry, not sorry. And I try to make sure I get everything done on the same route from home to work." Um, Michelle saying, "I'm making some serious changes. Walk to home few days a week and bike sometimes." Um, and I I completely agree with you. I I feel like I run a a pretty strict program as well.

[00:22:34]If if it ain't a walking distance, bring your flats, we walk, get some steps in.

[00:22:39]>> Yeah. I I I used to I used to spend uh early at the start of the year, I used to spend $100 a week, and that would run me to six days, sometimes going into seven days, right? And my budget would be $200 every two weeks. Okay. Now, $100. Yeah. Yeah. $200. I I do the same home to work work to home and then maybe weekends I go pick up groceries. I I don't I know gallivant out there me I understand the cost of living right now perhaps better than a lot of people and I appreciate it right. I don't blame people this one and that one as much as I say how I could take responsibility and cut back. But now I find myself they spend the $200 whereas I used to spend it in like 12 to 14 days. Um I spend that in like 8 days, >> right? So eight or nine days now that $200. So I've had to like Tyler said increase my um fuel budget by at least $30.

[00:23:40]>> Mhm. just so I could make it past the next few days until I budget again, get my income, budget again, and then um start the cycle over. So, I I see it. I understand it personally.

[00:23:52]>> So, my vehicle takes um well, prior to the the the recent um uh fuel raising, but I think it took roughly about a little bit less than $200 to fill my tank. And I would range that. Um a full tank lasts me almost two weeks, but I also not go out on weekends. I I I run a strict program, but now I find myself like $200. It It takes more than $200 to fill my car. That's what I'm saying. And so when I saw that at the gas pump some last week, I I immediately said, "Oh, I don't know what we are doing, friend, but something will have a do.

[00:24:25]>> I don't know." Um and so uh we feel your pain, guys. I I think though for us in in particular, for me, I try to find ways to walk as much as possible, right?

[00:24:35]Um, in my case, I have to commute longer distances and so I think it's a little bit easier when you're on the highways.

[00:24:41]Um, but in the city, you tend to burn more gas when you're doing short stops, too. So, you have to take that into consideration.

[00:24:47]>> The only time I usually walk is when I'm walking to my vehicle and then I get in and I drive to my destination and walk out of it.

[00:24:55]>> KTV, the remix is coming up. Let's talk about it. Turn it. We will not allow any mic abuse, any mic violence this year, any sort of mic drama. We don't want any dropping. No, this year is all about fun and positivity. We launched the ad yesterday on social media and people are already odd fans are already sharing it.

[00:25:25]Uh people are already commenting. I see uh on Instagram and Facebook uh people are questioning whether or not they should compete this year, whether they should >> The answer is always yes.

[00:25:36]>> The answer is always yes. So auditions are coming in a couple weeks, right?

[00:25:40]>> Yes. It's June 6th and 7th right here at our studios on Coney Drive and it's exciting. Paul, I I enjoyed the audition show itself. I think all the personality come and brave enough and courageous enough to try their luck at the competition, right? Um but we we encourage everyone to come. For a lot of people this are like bucket list you know they feel like they they they could sing. They have family members friends who've told them you have a league gift you know or they just like singing in the showers. And so this has been something that uh they've expressed m multiple times wanting to try their hand at um and so we encourage you guys to come out uh at our studios on June 6th and 7th and try your luck at KTV the remix. I know that this year is going to be exciting. Every single year we try to uh uh take it up a couple notches um from the year before and so uh I know that uh people definitely want to stay locked into the program this year.

[00:26:37]>> Yeah, I definitely just want to say a huge shout out to the team behind the scenes that makes this happen. Uh it's not an easy job. Uh it takes a lot of commitment, a lot of after hours work.

[00:26:50]And so I definitely want to say a huge shout out to the team, the producer that works behind the scenes to make this happen and to do it so consistently that we are in the eighth season. Man, this is exciting and I'm looking forward to see uh all the talent that comes out um and and really put on a show for Bleians and hopefully win that $10,000 cash prize.

[00:27:16]>> I'm looking forward to it. But speaking of putting on a show, Paul, this weekend is exciting for us, too, because we are heading down south and we are taking you guys with us on Monday. You will be joining us in Hopkins Village for our country tour. Country tour is backp.

[00:27:34]>> I know you've only experienced one with us. You went um all the way to PG.

[00:27:39]>> I was never meant to experience it, you know. I just filled in a day at and I was quite satisfied with that.

[00:27:46]>> You were quite s you went all the way down south to the end and not a mop but um yeah it's exciting. We are going to uh kick off our first leg of the country tour in Hopkins Village and I really really love this initiative Paul. It's our way of getting outdoors and bringing open your eyes to our fans all over the country. You know, every single morning when we when we start the morning show, we have people saying they're tuning in from this place, from this place, outside the country, inside the country, all over. And we're always excited when you guys tell us where you're tuning in from. And so, this is our way of bringing the show to you guys. We are going on the road. Last year was super fun. I remember when we were in Corrosal, we saw some people wait outside uh or wait at the entrance of the area that we were uh to come and meet me in April. And that be really cool. People will actually watch the show, right?

[00:28:39]>> People will actually watch the show and they they feel like we're a part of their family. And I really hope that you guys feel that way because certainly for for uh our fans who comment every morning, they feel like like they're a part of our family. I remember when we met Mish uh this week, I feel like I to meet my friend Mish my friend. Nobody can't tell me I'm M friend. Uh and so I feel that way for everyone else who've been commenting every single day. and I really hope that we get to see you guys.

[00:29:05]We are going to be at uh Ella's Cool Spot on Monday morning. So, come on out and chill with us at 6:30 a.m. as usual.

[00:29:14]It's a live show and uh it's definitely going to be an exciting one. We're going to have a lot of really cool activities to look forward to and great conversations as well.

[00:29:22]>> And I almost certainly miss Ella feed because she like feed people.

[00:29:26]>> Well, I am not mad at that at all. So, we welcome it as well. All right, Paul, we do have to wrap things up at this time. I want to jump back into uh the comments once more just to see what people are saying. I see Tyler Smith here say saying have to buy a beach cruiser. I agree. You know, I can't tell you last night ride a bike.

[00:29:45]Silence for that. Thank you very much.

[00:29:48]Let's move things.

[00:29:50]Esther said, "It's so nice that you guys step out of the box and go out district to this uh to do this. This is amazing.

[00:29:56]I love it." Uh Michelle said, "Sounds like a a good trip." Mish, we have to take you with Wait, we have to take everybody with me. Guys, that would be so fun if we have a live audience as well. Just me throwing that out there.

[00:30:05]Hoping you know that somebody pick it up. All right, cool. Let's move things along. We have to now take our first break this morning, but don't go anywhere. When we come back, our first conversation is certainly an important one. We've been talking about helmet protections and the safety that it requires uh on the road. And so when we come back, we'll be speaking to the Ministry of Transportation. We'll have the CEO in with us.

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[00:33:50]Open your eyes is hitting the road once again for a country tour. Join us live at 6:30 a.m. from Ella's school spot in beautiful Hopkins Village for an exciting morning filled with culture, delicious food, entertainment, and so much more. Get ready to experience the vibrant spirit of Hopkins as we showcase the people, flavors, traditions that makes the village so special. Don't miss the start of our 2026 country tour starting at Hopkins Village, only on Open Your Eyes.

[00:34:31]Hello friends, I'm Dr. Bob Roberts with another 62 sermon from God's word.

[00:34:37]The Bible says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that there is none righteous, know not one."

[00:34:43]There are two great facts the Bible makes clear about all of us. First of all, we have all sinned. Secondly, all of us need God's forgiveness. I understand that it was Billy Graham's custom to get names of prominent people in the city in which he would be conducting a crusade to pray for them in advance that they would come to Christ during the crusade. Once when preparation was being made to conduct a crusade in a large city in America, he wrote the mayor of that city and asked him to mail him a list of some people in the city whom he knew really needed forgiveness. The mayor responded by mailing Billy Graham a telephone book for the entire city. The message was clear. They all needed forgiveness.

[00:35:24]While some may be guilty of more obvious sins that incur greater guilt and consequences than others, the truth is that all of us have sinned and stand in need of God's forgiveness. How quick and ready God is to forgive the most vile of sinners who come to him by faith in his son Jesus Christ. The last act of Jesus when dying on the cross was one of forgiveness. In his dying moments, he cried out to God and said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." 2,000 years later, he remains faithful and just to forgive all who honestly confess their sins unto him.

[00:36:01]Today's 62 sermon has been presented by Christian Foundations of Faith in cooperation with the Baptist churches in your area.

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[00:38:43]Welcome back. Thanks for staying tuned with us. This is our first conversation for this morning. It's a very important one, folks. So, you all want to stay locked in and you want to listen in keenly. It's all about understanding Biz's helmet regulations and uh safety trainings. And we have joining us on set the chief transport officer in the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Leon Gentle.

[00:39:07]We also have the director and CEO at BISE Automobile Touring Association.

[00:39:14]Good morning, Miss Gloria Morga.

[00:39:16]>> Good morning. Um, we also have the director at the FIA Foundation programs, Miss Ai Crasoluca.

[00:39:26]>> Yeah, >> definitely butcher that name.

[00:39:28]>> You got it though. You got it at the end. We believed in you.

[00:39:31]>> Thank you so much. And last but certainly not least, a technical consultant at FIA Foundation, Dr. Terres.

[00:39:40]>> Good morning.

[00:39:40]>> Good morning, guys. Thanks so much for joining us.

[00:39:43]>> Thank you so much for uh being a part of this conversation. I I want I'd like to ask uh C chief transport officer Mr. Gentle to lead the conversation uh just to explain to us uh how is it that we've gotten to this point where uh there is this collaboration uh with uh international agency uh local uh automobile uh stakeholder and then yourself as the ministry.

[00:40:12]>> Paul good morning. Um I think for some time the department of transport has been focusing on improving the safety of motorcycle riders. As you may know last year uh was one of those years where we had a huge surge in fatalities related to motorcycles and um what the department has done is looked at different uh ways how we can effectively improve the safety. Uh initially there was a proposal for training of motorcycle riders both uh >> came with a lot of backlash >> and so um with those backlash we looked at other alternative ways to improve that safety and here we are today looking at a a helmet safety standards that um of course the data had shown that a lot of the fatalities involve head trauma >> and because of that we felt it important for us to look at improving the quality of the helmets that are being used on the roads today and these uh partners have been instrumental in moving that process forward.

[00:41:14]>> Before we get into the details of the collaboration, I want to take a quick look at what the regulations um are at this time for helmet usage. Are there specific helmets that riders would have to use?

[00:41:27]>> So, that's the purpose of uh improving the standards. It's mandatory that you use a helmet. Um the issue is that we have not standardized what those helmets should look like.

[00:41:37]>> And as you may see, we have uh delivery guys, the persons on motorcycle riding with a bicycle helmet, >> half helmets, helmets that are not at certified or a quality that can save their lives. And so what we looked at from the department standpoint along with the Bureau of Standards is to look at the type of helmets that are going to come into the country. And so we start from that element in improving the quality of those and so until we can transition all of the helmets that are not certified out.

[00:42:08]>> Director Morga, if you can uh share with us a bit about how uh the association you you represent adds value to this initiative.

[00:42:18]>> Okay. Uh because we are a member of the FIA and we also have worked with FIA Foundation in this regard. uh we come across a lot of our sister clubs in the region who already are implementing the standards or have implemented the standards have knowledge of this and so we come in as a partner that can then help them with the standards. We got the framework already from our sister club in Jamaica uh the Jamaica um helmet think tank and we then tweaked that to use that for the government so that they can then put in the standards that we required for the bleian population >> to help us better understand the standard like what's a key feature in the standard what what do we mean when we're talking about the standard >> well the standard in that regard is the fact that we want to have the helmets to be a certified helmet helmet, but also it's not just about the helmet. It's about saving the lives of the persons that are riding. You know, we want people that who are riders out there be protected not just from other riders, but from vehicular vehicles that are out there that could be impacted, want them to get home to be able to be with their families. You know, it's a it's a risk that they taking with their lives. Uh it's a risk that they lose their lives.

[00:43:42]It's a risk that they uh will, you know, impact their family financially if they're injured, severely injured, have not having that money to be able to pay for those. So, it it's a big impact. We want them to be safe when they're riding out there. We want them to know that there's more to it than just a helmet that you're wearing. It's about you, your family, and your extended family, co-workers, because it it impacts everybody.

[00:44:09]>> Yeah. I want to get Aggie in the conversation and Dr. Smith as well uh to talk about the role of the FIA Foundation and what uh their involvement is with the Ministry of Transport.

[00:44:20]>> Uh sure. So um just quickly FIA Foundation is a um global philanthropy.

[00:44:26]We were set up over 25 years ago to deal with issues uh linked to road safety.

[00:44:33]Motorcycle safety has became one of the major problems uh over last um well few decades. Motorcycles uh have been motorcycle use have been growing over last uh two decades around the world. So it's not just a problem here in Bise or in the region it's global. Uh so the estimates that come from the WH say that uh around 30% of all fatalities around the world are attributed to use of motorcycles. Uh and we see places like Southeast Asia for example that has 46%. So you know the half of your population is affected uh dies or sustains injuries because of uh the use of motorcycles. So you know they are dangerous. Um motorcycle riders are vulnerable. Of course they also very important. They provide very important service that that's why they are on the road. Um that's a mobility access to services uh access schools hospitals etc etc. Um so you know whilst whilst we appreciate the role that they play in the system we also need to make sure that we mitigating the uh the vulnerability and the dangers that they come. Uh so FIA foundation would work uh with partners around the world uh governments uh and civil society uh to improve um safety around use of motorcycles and helmet uh in particular helmet is and will tell you this you know is the single most effective solution that uh can save you from death or brain injury. That's why it's so important that uh people in countries around the world have access to helmets that are safe uh and that are certified.

[00:46:31]Um >> something that is not certified will >> not provide the the >> adequate protection.

[00:46:38]>> Adequate protection. We in many places around the world come across helmets that you can literally just squeeze in your hands. Uh it's a plastic shell. If you are in the crash, this will not give you any protection. So, we're delighted to have uh partnered uh with uh with the ministry. Of course, Gloria and the Automoil Club uh of Bizia has been a longstanding partner. Um and yeah, we are we are very happy that um that the action towards improving, strengthening motorcycle helmet safety is taking place and yeah, we stand by you guys and u ready to help. Well, Terry, let's get you in the conversation. Some strategies that you have seen as effective, especially with the usage of helmets.

[00:47:24]>> Well, like Eggy says, it it is a global problem. So, one of the things I do working with the foundation is we work on developing standards. So, here in BISE with the Bureau of Standards, a wellrecoognized organization, we put together rather quickly actually this BZ31 standard. And so now they have a document which requires certified helmets to uh only be sold and offered.

[00:47:49]So now the other agencies working with the Ministry of Transport can now start to gradually stop these counterfeit lowquality helmets coming into the country. And now eventually we're going to get to a point where as Aggie said we know a certified helmet will reduce your risk of dying by about 40%. So it's quite significant. So, our goal here is to get as many certified helmets on riders as we can and continue to promote safety.

[00:48:18]>> What are a few key features of a certified helmet and how do we address the issue of costs or perhaps dispel the notions that it may be expensive, >> right? Affordability is a is a significant challenge. And so, the first thing we want to look for is a certification sticker. all certifications, there'll be a nice large sticker on the back center of the helmet which usually says DOT or ECE and and it recognizes that it's a certified product. A lot of helmets don't even have that. So, we know that they're likely not certified.

[00:48:53]>> Mhm. Yeah. And in terms of uh cost, how how is that conversation building?

[00:48:59]>> Well, we're looking at, you know, obviously tariffs, duties, importing. We don't have an industry here in Bise, so we have to bring products in. We want to try and keep affordability. One of the nice things, the great things of this standard is it accepts standards from all around the world. So now we can get competition for bringing products in that are certified, you know, so we can get products DOT products, products from India and China that are certified and that maximizes the market and tries to help support affordability. Yeah.

[00:49:32]>> We had we had some images on screen. Um, can we can can you tell us a bit about what you're seeing here? Can we pull it up on the screen in front of us? What's right and what's wrong?

[00:49:44]>> Oh, there we go. Yeah. So, a couple of things. Obviously, the the helmet in the front is defin neither helmet is actually certified because you can see that it's got such a low profile in the front. I'm not sure what happened in the back >> for the first one.

[00:49:59]>> For the first one, I'm not sure what happened in the back. One of the the tragic things is if you look at that helmet in the front, the the brown helmet, look at how the strap comes down in front of the ear. If that person were involved in a crash, that helmet would rotate off of his head.

[00:50:12]>> Yeah. It doesn't even look like a strap.

[00:50:14]>> Exactly. So So now he would be the same condition as a rider not wearing a helmet.

[00:50:18]>> That looks like a baseball helmet if you ask me.

[00:50:20]>> Yeah. Well, I think he's got a baseball cap underneath.

[00:50:24]>> Yeah. And then the second one that we were looking at, >> the second one, the person had abandoned the visor. So now they're riding without air prote eye protection.

[00:50:33]>> So that is also, you know, one of the efforts of the ministry is to try and use the full resources of the device.

[00:50:39]You see the black things on the side.

[00:50:41]That's how the visor would have been attached.

[00:50:43]>> So you can tell it's been taken off. We see no stickers in the back or any designation that it's been certified to anything.

[00:50:50]>> But it looks safer. It it is, but it's it's kind of the way I equate it to it's like an uncertified fire extinguisher.

[00:50:57]You don't know if it's going to stop the fire. So, >> it's literally just a lesser evil.

[00:51:02]>> You don't know if it's going to save them. So, that's why we want to make sure we guarantee this quality.

[00:51:07]>> And now we have some examples that were displayed at the um ministries event.

[00:51:12]What are we looking at here? What makes these ones uh uh stand out? So they they have all the elements of the helmet, right? They have the facial protection, the eye protection. If we were turn around to look at the back of those helmets, the two helmets on the right, the the one designated GPA and the one that's red are not certified because they don't have any kind of indications.

[00:51:35]They don't have certification stickers, >> but they look like >> they do. This is the challenge we face here. And and we have to improve awareness. the one on the left side that we saw >> the the one on the far left that is actually a certified helmet. The HRO is actually certified.

[00:51:50]>> Yeah.

[00:51:51]>> So, >> but you see this is this is the problem uh that we um Terry and I work uh around the world and this is what we're seeing the industry that manufactures substandard helmets is getting better and better uh in manufacturing helmets that look just like certified helmets.

[00:52:11]uh faking the label on the back also faking the documentation that comes with uh um with uh with the uh with the helmet. So that's why it's so important to have Bureau of Standard to have all agencies relevant uh in the uh enforcement process to be aware to be part of this game otherwise you know we are facing the prospect of having counterfeit helmets flooding the countries which we seen unfortunately very often. And we have um engaged not only those um importers of these helmets as as well as the customs department as a part of the initial stages in terms of identifying what helmets should come in based on the standards that we're opening.

[00:52:58]It's a multi- aent thing.

[00:53:00]>> And I'm thinking um the stores that sells motorcycles for example, they also may have to reframe their approach. Uh where in some cases they may not be thinking about what's certified or what's not certified. They're just thinking my customer needs a helmet so let me just provide >> I need to make money. So this is reframing of the conversation >> especially when we talk about affordability >> and we did involve some of those larger importers. Um for example Universal Hardware was involved in this entire conversation. Um they even looked at um giving us the idea of how they import it over a 6-mon period. it is ordered and they can use our standards, the BZ to be able to provide it to their um producers and have that type of helmet be the one that comes in. The customs department, we even looked at the labeling of the box >> so that when it comes in, customs department would be able to identify those certified helmets coming into the country and so they are part of this entire process as well.

[00:54:06]>> So what will enforcement look like?

[00:54:08]because when that those helmets officially come on the market, you will have to ensure that people are following the rules and wearing the helmets with the appropriate stickers.

[00:54:17]>> So, uh from our standpoint, as you may know, we're looking at increasing our uh footprint on the ground in terms of uh the numbers of persons being employed at the Department of Transport. There definitely has to be an a conversation about the transitioning of all those notcertified helmets. And then we have a time frame that that would have to go through. And once that has been approved, we look at increasing now our footprint on the ground to make sure that those officers who have been trained um which we're going through right now to identify those certified helmets and then move into enforcing the the entire standard >> and this includes everyone on that motorcycle uh driver, passenger. We've seen some disturbing videos of like up to three, four people on motorbikes, children included. How do you guys plan to address that even?

[00:55:09]>> Well, we have to enforce the law.

[00:55:12]>> Yeah.

[00:55:12]>> Um it's a cultural change that needs to happen and we've been doing so with our presence on the road. We are in today's activity, we'll be sensitizing our um motorcycle riders about the standards and including um things that they should know about riding a cycle.

[00:55:29]>> All right. So also conversations continue with uh motorcycle users throughout the week.

[00:55:34]>> Yes.

[00:55:35]>> Yes.

[00:55:36]>> So we I think you know that we're going to continue doing more um training the ministry of transport and other municipalities to you know get everyone in so that then you bring this the the officers up to the level that they need to know to understand the certification of the helmet. So it's not a one day or two day deal. It's a continuous um training to be able to get them to the standard.

[00:56:00]>> Well, and you'll note Paul that what we did from the Department of Transport was it we we expanded our reach in terms of inviting the police department as well as all the municipal authorities. What we're doing right now in that training is we're training trainers of trainers, right? Um so we'll be taking this not just from this angle but when this is finished we'll be preparing a training package that we would go now to different agencies that um have enforcement um officers to continue to train them those who were not fully a part of this process.

[00:56:33]>> All right well we've been having the discussion in our newscast. We want to thank you all for joining us on our morning show to continue the discussion and we'll certainly be uh following up and also continuing this discussion right here. So ladies and gentlemen, we want to thank you so much for joining us this morning. It's been a pleasure.

[00:56:51]>> Thank you. And we also would want to thank you for bringing this uh to the attention of the public here. We need you guys as well.

[00:57:00]>> Of course, 100%. So thank you so much.

[00:57:03]>> Thank you.

[00:57:04]>> All right. Well, at this time we take another quick break, but don't go anywhere. Our next conversation is recognizing early warning signs of autoimmune diseases with the police healthcare partners.

[00:57:37]Open Your Eyes is hitting the road once again for a country tour. Join us live at 6:30 a.m. from Ella's school spot in beautiful Hopkins Village for an exciting morning filled with culture, delicious food, entertainment, and so much more. Get ready to experience the vibrant spirit of Hopkins as we showcase the people, flavors, traditions that makes the village so special. Don't miss the start of our 2026 country tour starting at Hopkins Village only on Open Your Eyes.

[00:58:28]Heat. Heat.

[00:59:07]Heat.

[00:59:19]Look your kitchen like the kitchen.

[00:59:22]>> Mommy going back in there right now.

[00:59:24]>> And the coffee maker >> just to try keep me the coffee warm for later.

[00:59:28]>> What you do now?

[00:59:29]>> I'll try think about what to eat.

[00:59:31]>> You know the more you open or close the refriger cool. Uh-huh.

[00:59:37]>> For a hot day like today, it burn more energy, you charge your phone right now.

[00:59:43]>> No.

[00:59:43]>> Plug it out then. You really only wash two le so sacks and one le shirt. You don't know why small load burn the same amount of electricity as large loads.

[00:59:54]>> Well, this are my favorite shirt.

[00:59:55]>> You have to be more energy efficient.

[00:59:58]Use large loads.

[01:00:01]This AC blow hard. You know, if you keep the temperature at 25° C or higher, you burn less energy and you also keep the place cool.

[01:00:15]And for a nice day like today, turn off the AC, open up the house, and make some fresh breeze coming in.

[01:00:24]You know what? I think I get it now. As consumers, we need to be more energy efficient and practice energy conservation.

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[01:02:15]Heat. Heat.

[01:02:20]Heat. Heat.

[01:02:51]Welcome back. We are jumping into our second conversation and I think this one's quite an interesting one. We are going to be learning a bit more about autoimmune diseases and the warning signs and how you can protect yourself and fight them. of course uh with uh a specialist. We have here with us an internal medicine specialist with a subsp specialty in rheumatology uh from the BISE Healthcare Partners, Dr. Osman Morales. Thank you so much for joining us.

[01:03:19]>> Thank you very much >> and welcome.

[01:03:21]>> Thank you very much.

[01:03:22]>> All right. Well, let's jump into it because um I think a lot of people are still a little bit um confused perhaps about what an autoimmune disease is or the different types of autoimmune diseases, if there even is.

[01:03:37]>> Let's begin there setting the groundwork for what an autoimmune disease is. Okay, autoimmune diseases is simply to put it um on a clear ground, on a more specific ground. It's those illnesses that attack your healthy cells, healthy tissues and your body cannot recognize what is healthy from what is not healthy.

[01:03:58]Meaning that um for instance the typical illness that you would hear around outside lupus, rheumatoid arthritis. So these illnesses would attack systems and cells and eventually it will destroy um when it comes to lungs, kidneys, heart, uh digestive system, even brain. So we need to create awareness about these illnesses because outside we don't know a lot >> of the autoimmune diseases which are on the rise especially um after COVID up to now >> there have been described over 150 different autoimmune diseases. And we only know a few a few have been studied and every year we study more and more.

[01:04:42]>> Is it very common in bise to find people with autoimmune diseases?

[01:04:46]>> I have been here for couple of months and I have seen plenty plenty. And it all has to do with our um way of life, our lifestyle as well.

[01:04:58]Okay. Because even what we eat, even what we do can also destroy or can also trigger these illnesses.

[01:05:06]>> So this illnesses can be triggered by pollution, can be triggered um by lack of physical exercise, can be triggered by what we eat, can be triggered by even other illnesses that we have in our body.

[01:05:17]>> So autoimmune diseases, it's something um that we need to create awareness. In fact, this month of May, it's lupus awareness month. And in every day like for instance yesterday was Bashett's day awareness day vasculitis awareness day uh lupus awareness day of course and um it's done because so that we reduce the stigma in this society that we have and also to create more awareness of course >> now I I could understand the immune in autoimmune in terms of your immune system uh but does the outer in the name uh suggest something and I may be looking at it a little bit uh too closely and too analytically but the outer aspect uh does it uh have some sort of definition as to why that is specifically >> auto means self >> selfdestruction of itself of the body of the system that's why so it's autoimmune of the destruction of our immune system >> so kind of like the body attacking itself >> so the body attacking itself I'm glad I asked that question Now I kind of have a way of reframing it.

[01:06:28]>> Yeah. So typical signs and symptoms patients can have is fatigue, uh weight loss, hair thinning, lower vision, a lot of joint pain, muscle pain, weakness as well. So people patients start to feel that and they usually yes they do get um help from medical specialist but um it comes a time that after a certain time the medication is not working. So that means that the autoimmune diseases are already um being more strong or stronger uh in the sense that um your body cannot cope with it. Your body cannot defend itself especially in the elderly.

[01:07:06]>> How much of it uh uh are uh genetics?

[01:07:11]>> Genetics not by itself and being genetics meaning um it could attack your genes. Yes. And I always tell patients since you are born you are susceptible.

[01:07:23]You will have an autoimmune disease.

[01:07:24]>> Really?

[01:07:25]>> Yes. Not now. Knowing which one, we don't know. Doing all the test, it's not necessary cuz if it's too early, there won't be any positive lab test.

[01:07:35]Antibodies we call it. We need to test for those antibodies. Antibodies um are like the little soldiers that are out there fighting. So if we don't test um uh promptly or even um before time it could be even too risky because patients could have already more damage.

[01:07:55]>> But saying telling them you will have rheumatoitis for instance you will have lupus I cannot already categorize a patients by by telling them that >> because I need to be very sure he or she has that illness. Once they do have that illness, the management is for life.

[01:08:12]>> You spoke about rheumatotoid arthritis.

[01:08:15]Can you expand on um what exactly that disease is?

[01:08:19]>> So rheumatoid arthritis could be could appear could start at any age. Okay. You could be uh a teenager 16 15 years old.

[01:08:28]I have patients are 12 years old and they do have rheumatoid arthritis which is not called rheumatoitis. At that age we call it juvenile idiopatic arthritis.

[01:08:36]After 16 years of age we call it rheumatoid arthritis. So this illness starts with pain joint pain especially the medium size and the and the small size joints hands elbows shoulders as well knees swelling morning stiffness that could could last over 30 minutes.

[01:08:55]So people would start um experiencing these symptoms which are the first symptoms and sometimes it start with the feet >> and they're not aware that it could be rheumatoid arthritis because who doesn't work and be with uncomfortable shoes walking all every day all day and they would say okay it's the shoes they change shoes it doesn't work they take all typs of uh NSAIDs and it doesn't work so you need to be aware that this first warning signs are signs of the rheumatoid arthritis.

[01:09:27]>> Now, we spoke earlier about different factors that could contribute to autoimmune diseases like environment and and lifestyle. But when you think of young children with these types of of diseases, what are some of the factors that contribute to it?

[01:09:41]>> We call it triggering factors. Okay. So, this triggering factors in children for instance is starting from home what they eat. Um >> so as early as 12 years that could affect them >> and there are younger patients as well juvenile we call it juvenile um autoimmune diseases.

[01:09:58]>> So tell us what are some of those things that they could be consuming >> for instance um high carb carbohydrates or high sugar intakes.

[01:10:05]>> Um we know we we go outside we we have a lot of fast food outside we eat our fried diet >> it's the bleian diet. So that same diet uh involving carbohydrates, fast fatty food could trigger and could change our genetics in the way that you were already born that you will have an autoimmune disease but at what age? So if we have those triggering factors, we could develop these illnesses at a younger age or at an older age. M >> so depending on also some factors are non-modifiable like for instance the pollution that we have the use of the constant contact with insecticides pesticides in fact there are people that um there have been studies that in the books that even hair dyes um acrylics all those things could also trigger these types of of illnesses. In fact also silicon implants all that could also trigger this these illnesses because these are not well known or these are not um well seen per say to say by the body. So the body tries to reject to reject this type of um of external factors.

[01:11:18]>> Yeah.

[01:11:18]>> So after diagnosis what's the next step treatment or cure? After the after the diagnosis we need to have a plan of treatment pharmacological and non-farmacological cure unfortunately there is no cure but we have an objective remission remission is when a patient has no signs and symptoms of the illness and yes we can reach a remission but it depends on the patient >> because if I do prescribe um biologics medications for instance and uh the patient is not taking good non-farmacological care of themselves then it won't it won't work as effective won't be as effective as having both >> so nonfarmacological care means looking at what you eat for example your lifestyle and your habits that's what I'm getting from that >> exactly what you eat your healthy lifestyle doing physical exercise it does help a lot also um getting adequate sleep seven eight hours a day guys.

[01:12:22]>> Fatigue.

[01:12:23]>> Really? People get 78 hours a day?

[01:12:26]>> They should.

[01:12:26]>> Yeah.

[01:12:27]>> But, you know, I'm here thinking to myself, you know, there might be people tuning in right now saying, you know, I all my life I eat a high carb diet. I eat my fa tortilla and and my my granny never did anything like why all of a sudden we're now seeing so many cases of people with autoimmune diseases, especially younger people.

[01:12:48]I studies have shown that also what they add into what we buy >> is what is affecting us as well. So for instance we eat a lot of canned food for instance the carbs that we get ultrarocessed foods.

[01:13:03]>> So all these foods back then we we we didn't have there wasn't any um that amount of processed foods like right now.

[01:13:10]>> So yes we do eat a lot of carbohydrates.

[01:13:12]I'm not telling you don't eat carbohydrates but limit >> the amount of intake on on carbohydrates. So if for instance um you eat four flour tortillas every morning then reduce to one >> chops >> some people walking on my day.

[01:13:31]>> Yeah.

[01:13:31]>> So if you eat that amount well you have to reduce you know carbohydrates is bad.

[01:13:36]In fact, if you can just avoid carbohydrates on its own.

[01:13:40]>> Yeah.

[01:13:40]>> It's >> what's carbohydrates like what's examples?

[01:13:43]>> Starch, flour, uh corn tortilla, uh rice, um pasta, spaghettis, all those are are are carbohydrates that >> But a lot of people have the idea that without the presence of carbs, they won't feel full.

[01:13:57]>> Exactly.

[01:13:58]>> So, what do you what do you say to them?

[01:14:00]>> You don't need to get full. it. You don't you just need to get an 80% full.

[01:14:06]And in your diet, you could include vegetables, fruits, vegetables.

[01:14:09]>> People feel like if they just eat veg, they want to get hungry in a half an hour.

[01:14:12]>> And that is why you can include carbs, healthy carbs, um whole grain carbs, maybe a little rice, that's for lunch, couscous, quinoa, little pasta. Yes. And I'm not saying just okay avoid those foods. But once you have the illness, the best thing is to try to to avoid or eat as less as possible. It's not to get full.

[01:14:37]>> It's just to get that um satisfaction that well you ate and 80% you got full.

[01:14:43]And then um having that you have eaten and and taking good care of yourself, it makes you feel well because some patients cannot even be outside doing physical exercise because the disabilities that this illness it could cause deformities as well.

[01:14:59]>> Some of them are very handicapped and they can't even walk. So we have to be very careful and at least practice healthy lifestyle with the diet. Is there any data that links uh uh the autoimmune diseases with perhaps lowincome homes for example and marginalized communities? Cuz I'm thinking in some cases the economic situation may prevent certain families from eating healthy or healthier simply because carbs are often times more cheaper like flour and rice.

[01:15:34]>> Exactly. So, you know, right now, um, there has been that people marginalized, like what you said, people are >> well, they're not aware of what they eat. They just want to eat until they get full like what you were saying. And um, >> unfortunately, that's the case. And another triggering factor is sun.

[01:15:56]>> The sun could also trigger this illnesses. I always say that the sun is the friend of all autoimmune diseases, but our enemy. So yes, we get vitamin D from the sun. We but we need to have photo protection from it.

[01:16:11]>> Applying your sunscreen. So it always comes from these tiny little things that you can do to avoid heavy um heavy illnesses for instance. Uh so at Bise Healthcare Partners, we do all sorts of tests and you have to test yourself as well. If you start with all these warning signs then um we do have to test for it and medication believe me it's a lifetime medication but the remission is our objective.

[01:16:40]>> Yeah.

[01:16:41]>> Excellent.

[01:16:41]>> So um uh I just really want to look into now some of the tests that are available at the healthcare partners for persons who might be experiencing some of the symptoms that you described. Yeah, we do have what we call antibodies for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, seriatic arthritis, for gout. If I could mention the autoimmune diseases, we have so many spondular arthritis, vasculitis. Um we do all all the tests whereby um the test um show us uh 40% of our diagnosis. The rest comes from our physical from the physical exam from the clinical history that the patient tell us. So that is the way we come into the diagnosis of all these illnesses.

[01:17:25]>> All right. Well um this has been quite an informative conversation. I've learned uh uh some stuff here.

[01:17:32]Definitely I think uh it reinforced the importance of taking care of our bodies and the steps that we can take to even prevent some of this or maybe even delay the onset of autoimmune diseases. Thank you so much for joining us and we hope that uh you guys are able to uh make use of the information.

[01:17:48]>> Thank you very much. Thank you.

[01:17:50]>> All right, at this time we are going to take another quick break, but don't go anywhere. When we come back, our next conversation is all about stepping together in the fight against cancer.

[01:18:29]And across our country, the work to keep police connected continues. Smart continues expanding our network across the country, bringing stronger coverage to more communities with recent service enhancements in areas at Blue Creek and Progresso, Belise City, Orange Walk, and more on the way. We're bringing education closer to home, empowering entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, supporting industries that drive our economy, and keeping families connected wherever life takes them. With every expansion, we are investing in the infrastructure that moves families forward. Because connection isn't just about signal. It's about opportunity, progress, and the future we are building together. Smart. Bringing people together.

[01:19:29]SEASON 8 OF KTV.

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[01:21:18]Open Your Eyes is hitting the road once again for a country tour. Join us live at 6:30 a.m. from Ella's school spot in beautiful Hopkins Village for an exciting morning filled with culture, delicious food, entertainment, and so much more. Get ready to experience the vibrant spirit of Hopkins as we showcase the people, flavors, tradition that makes the village so special. Don't miss the start of our 2026 country tour starting at Hopkins Village only on Open Your Eyes.

[01:22:09]Welcome back. Thanks for staying tuned with us. This is our third conversation for this morning and we will be marching right into it uh as we prepare for this weekend's cancer walk. Yes. Correct. And we have joining us on set the assistant secretary on the board of directors at the biz cancer society, Miss Monica Tucker, as well as the secretary of on the board of directors as well at the society, Miss Jacqueline Rome.

[01:22:39]>> Ladies, good morning. Good morning.

[01:22:42]>> Loving the bright orange. Looking beautiful.

[01:22:45]>> Thank you.

[01:22:46]>> So, we are gearing up for uh this weekend's cancer. Well, how are things shaping up?

[01:22:52]>> We are we are gearing up very brightly as you can see. By the way, there are other colors. So, we both have on the the orange, >> a brighter one, a lighter one.

[01:23:02]>> One is a dry fit and one is a dry fit.

[01:23:05]>> Okay. Hers is long sleeve.

[01:23:07]>> We just happen to have the same colors.

[01:23:09]Yeah, >> we chose the same colors.

[01:23:11]>> Yeah. Um, so yes, we are giving up. Um, to answer your question, I mean, most of the t-shirts have been sold. So, anyone out there who's thinking about getting a t-shirt, please get in touch as soon as you can. We'll be giving the number out soon. Actually, it's on our Facebook page as well.

[01:23:29]>> Um, so you can get yourself a t-shirt and be part of this um of this great event. Yeah. on Saturday, >> one of the biggest events really from the uh BISE Cancer Society. I know that it brings out uh hundreds of people on an annual basis. Uh some going there uh uh to honor people who they love, who have fought and won the battle and of course to honor those who've also lost the battle as well. Um perhaps we can begin with the purpose of the walk from the cancer society standpoint and what uh you attribute to the legacy for such a long time.

[01:24:07]>> Well, it all began with Juliet Sub um Orosco Subaranis. Uh she was a prominent businesswoman here in Biz. She was also a counselor and um at 39 she was diagnosed with breast cancer at a time when cancer was a big stigma in biz. It was taboo >> to talk about cancer. So her um mission her passion was to get the education the awareness out there whatever she could at the time. So she the they they began a small initiative of volunteers, people who had survived cancer, families who came together and they did their first walk in 1997 I think it was.

[01:24:58]>> And um >> it's 29 years ago.

[01:25:01]>> Yes. Yes. And then of course one year later she succumbed to this dreadful disease and she passed away in 1998.

[01:25:13]>> So um they she had a group of um friends who embraced her and embraced her her passion of what she wanted to get done and hence the bise cancer society >> and um and then it went from there. Now for purposes of the cancer walk um as you said it's one of our largest um >> events >> events for the year a a visual a visual it it shows that that the people are aware and they they care you know so they've come together in solidarity to to address this and to shout out that we know we care we want to to find results we want to support. We want to to be a part of the movement.

[01:26:04]>> When we think of um you know the different bodies of people that come together, I I've participated in a couple of the cancer walks and I'm always amazed when I see businesses come out and they just they do it for the experience or people they they bring their own t-shirts and they have photos of loved ones on there. Um and it's a real it's a real wholesome and powerful moment to see that visually as you described. um wherever you are in the march or or in the actual walk. Um it it's it's a real uh powerful feeling to witness. Um this year's cancer walk though will take place at the very same location that we saw last year. It starts in Ladyville. Yes, >> Selena.

[01:26:45]>> Um can you give us the idea of what we're going to be expecting?

[01:26:48]>> Sure. Well, well, first of all, this year's theme is is united by unique.

[01:26:54]>> And that what what does that does is um highlights, you know, the cancer journey >> for for an individual um that it's it's personal and it's entirely different >> from any other journey experience and it brings the community together and then supports. So this year, um, the cancer walk kicks off at 5:00 a.m. outside Selenas. But first, we do have bus runs.

[01:27:22]>> Yeah.

[01:27:22]>> So the first bus run is is out of the one-stop gas station out at the corner of Central American Boulevard, but and then the next one is at Palote, the Palote bus station. So there will be multiple runs between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.

[01:27:42]And then the kickoff is at 5. I think they're going to have a warm up.

[01:27:47]>> Yeah, they Yes, they have a warm up before you go. So, and then um so we wanted to emphasize that as much as PE it it's people should have fun. There's going to be music and we're celebrating not only the cancer survivors, we're supporting the the people battling with this dreadful disease and those who passed away, but at the same time, we want to be safe.

[01:28:15]>> So, we encourage our participants to um follow the rules of the road. The traffic police will be there. Um we'll have a BERT ambulance for if >> any >> we don't just in case.

[01:28:32]>> Um but we want to emphasize that good footwear is important. Um cool um um attire uh to wear to hydrate >> and to eat something you know electrolytes some salt before you do this walk. It's a 9 to 10 mile walk.

[01:28:51]Wow. So, if you've never done a walk like that, pace yourself and, you know, do a couple miles if you can or at the end or at the beginning, whichever um you know, works for you. But at the same time, you've got to be >> be mindful of your body.

[01:29:10]>> So, we just want them to >> to remember that it's a very hot day.

[01:29:14]Even at 7:00, it's 80°.

[01:29:17]>> So, >> they want to keep that in I'd like to uh just uh I know that a lot has been said.

[01:29:25]Uh what other details are important for participants to understand about this event? Um I think uh well first of all a big huge thank you to each and every participant because by buying the t-shirt you're actually um contributing to the funds of the biz cancer society and um I think it is important to let everyone know that every dollar that is that comes to the cancer society from the sale of um of the t-shirts goes directly to um cancer patients that we support. So we have several we have at least two requests per week I would say >> um of cancer patients that need financial support for example if you need radiation if a cancer patient needs radiation it has to be done outside of bise so we help support financially it could be transportation cost it could be the actual cost of the radiation if we can't do the entire amount at least we can contribute to a portion of it and um I think that's huge and for everyone to know that that's where your um contribution is going. Um >> yeah would be Yeah.

[01:30:35]>> So how do how do uh you all go about selecting um individuals to assist cuz I could imagine that's a tedious and difficult task.

[01:30:45]>> Um we try and help everybody.

[01:30:47]>> Wow.

[01:30:48]>> Um we really don't have a selection process to say we're going to support you and not you. We try and help everybody. we might not be able to give the full amount that a patient needs because a p each each patient each each cancer um patient has its own journey.

[01:31:05]>> Um but we try and help everybody.

[01:31:07]>> I imagine the need is great.

[01:31:09]>> It is and um we're seeing it more and more. I don't know whether it's people are coming towards more or whether um you know you'd have to look at the statistics of what's going on with cancer in BISE. Um, but yes, it's um it's kind of a heart-wrenching task really, but we we're happy that we can contribute and be part of of of the cure or prevention, let's say, sometimes.

[01:31:35]>> What are your uh both of you ladies individual stories of how you got connected to the BISE Cancer Society?

[01:31:42]You're a part of the board of directors.

[01:31:44]Well, mine was uh was uh my dad um in at at the age of 67, he was diagnosed with glyobblastoma, which is a brain stem cancer. It's um it's fatal, you know, it's um you can get some relief through surgery, you know, to probably put your affairs in order, but that's it. It's a it's a death sentence.

[01:32:12]I don't think I've ever heard of that >> of glyobblasto.

[01:32:16]>> It's getting quite common now. Um I mean if you look it up, some very prominent people in the world have gotten I didn't hear about it. I was 32 when my dad um passed. So that was my initial involvement and I was in the United States at the time. So I used to do the Susan Coleman walk and that was a 60-mi walk.

[01:32:39]>> Wow. But it entailed 3 days. And then after I did that and I raised almost $8,000, I said, "Well, why am I doing this here? I should be helping at home."

[01:32:51]And then that's that's how it started.

[01:32:54]So, prior to my returning to Biz, you know, I I supported through fundraising efforts in the US. Um, and I would um bring the monies home and do the walks >> here instead.

[01:33:06]>> And yourself? Uh well I think like I would hasten to say that almost every family has got a a member that has been affected by um cancer and the same is in my family. I have had family members um affected by cancer. So that's part of my motivation. But I think for me more more than that is just is just the um drive to give back to society um in the best way I can. And um that's why I'm here.

[01:33:38]>> Excuse me.

[01:33:39]>> I understand this is not a one organization initiative, but there's partnerships involved as well. Uh would you care to tell us some of those important and key partners in this initiative?

[01:33:51]>> Um yeah, that's absolutely correct. And it depends on what what activity we're doing. So um so for example, when we have our forums which are essentially educational forums um and they they they tend to be specific on one cancer. So we'll have a breast cancer forum, we'll have a cervical cancer forum and in those instances yes we partner with the ministry of health, the ministry of education um PAHO UNICEF um and they are of course very supportive. So yes we do partner with with um stakeholders >> and for the walk specifically sponsors.

[01:34:26]>> Oh the walk specifically. Okay.

[01:34:29]So I do have a list of sponsors um as well as a list not very long but a list of um people who are inind sponsors that have helped us.

[01:34:40]>> So our direct sponsors for the walk are Sagittar Digi Growan Sons Bowen and Bowen and by the way Bowen and Bowen have got stations crystal water stations along the route. That's not to say don't bring your own water. do bring your own water because rehydration is so important. But um there will be water stations um BNA BNE the embassy of the Republic of China Taiwan in Bise Biz National Teachers Union and in kind the buses have have been the the the the buses have been donated to us and with right now with the price of fuel we have to be extremely grateful to them that they're donating their time and their buses and that is truck parts of BISE and Gia and Philip Jones. Um, Habet and Habet are donating a truck. Um, truck parts of Bise. Oh, sorry. I've said them buses. Okay. Night and day photography of the official photographer. So, look out for your image on the Facebook.

[01:35:42]>> You don't want to be too winded when they snap a photo of you.

[01:35:49]>> Yeah. Keep monitoring the Facebook page.

[01:35:52]Um, hot off the press is media coverage and Sugar Fix are donating snacks.

[01:35:59]>> So, what a community group of people that are supporting us.

[01:36:03]>> I am telling you that and that is very important. Now, just to be clear, participation is free of cost or is there a registration process and fee?

[01:36:12]>> So, buying the t-shirt is actually a registration and a portion of that goes to the um fun is is a is a part of the fundraiser. Do you have to buy a t-shirt to participate?

[01:36:23]>> Don't have to.

[01:36:24]>> Well, we'd hope you would.

[01:36:26]>> Okay. Yeah.

[01:36:27]>> We hope you would all be wearing 20 26 t-shirts.

[01:36:31]>> Yes.

[01:36:31]>> How much uh do you have t-shirt enough t-shirts to go around?

[01:36:35]>> Well, I think you said it.

[01:36:36]>> Well, it's been on sale for quite some time now and it was $30 for the t-shirts and 65 for the dry fit.

[01:36:43]>> Okay.

[01:36:43]>> You know, so, >> but do we have any more available at this time?

[01:36:47]>> It's a very low supply depending on size.

[01:36:50]So you would have to call the office or visit them at the Mercane >> headquarters.

[01:36:57]>> All right.

[01:36:58]>> City. So if it's sold out and I can't get one, I could still come out and represent.

[01:37:04]>> We won't deny your presence. I'm >> sure. And if you want to do that, you can you can give a little contribution if you're so inclined. We'll be very happy for that. So yeah, people can come out, of course. Um you know, come out.

[01:37:16]If you don't have a t-shirt, don't let that stop you. come out, be part of it, be part of this walk, be part of this community, and a donation would be appreciated.

[01:37:25]>> Yeah, we haven't reached that stage yet of registration.

[01:37:31]>> It would be really hard to think.

[01:37:32]>> That's a that's a more formal >> Yeah.

[01:37:35]>> um approach to it.

[01:37:36]>> Approach to it. Yes.

[01:37:38]>> All right. Well, ladies, this has been a wonderful conversation. Um we definitely support the cancer walk. Um, I think I'm planning to be there as well uh on Saturday. So, I got to get my rest Friday night. I'm looking forward to uh taking part in the activity.

[01:37:53]>> Any final thoughts?

[01:37:54]>> Well, I just want to say that the power to make a difference >> lies with all of us. So, why we walk? We walk because we can't walk away and everybody deserves a lifetime.

[01:38:06]>> That's excellent. That's a beautiful way to end it. Yes.

[01:38:09]>> And I would like to um thank each and every individual that is part of this um part of this walk on Saturday and thank you for your contribution. Thank you for being with us, supporting us. Thank you to being part of this community which we all feel so strongly about. Thank you.

[01:38:28]>> Thank you. And one final note on behalf of the president of the Billise Cancer Society, Kim Simplis Barrow, and the board of directors, we thank you for this opportunity to help >> um >> get the word out, of course.

[01:38:42]>> So, we look forward to seeing everybody this Saturday, including you.

[01:38:45]>> All right. Well, to see you there, Paul.

[01:38:49]>> All righty. We're going to take another quick break, but when we come back, we have an interesting conversation to jump into when we come back. At the next conversation is why bees matter. Today is world be day.

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[01:45:15]Welcome back to Open Your Eyes. We are jumping into our final conversation this morning and uh it is uh an opportunity for us to perhaps acknowledge the importance of bees. Yesterday was World B Day and not Beyonce. Um but this morning we are going to be learning a little bit more about what the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and New Growth Industries have been doing in the country to preserve bees and even educate uh future beekeepers as well on the importance of beekeeping and even creating other products from them. We have here this morning a national beekeeping coordinator from the ministry Miguel Huertes and senior projects coordinator from the BMDC also under the Ministry of Agriculture Serio Tilllet.

[01:46:02]Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us and welcome.

[01:46:05]>> Good morning. Good morning >> and happy Bday.

[01:46:07]>> Good morning. It's a pleasure and honor to be here for this this week and the whole month. But >> it is World B Day.

[01:46:14]>> Yeah, World B Day and we have a lot to jump into.

[01:46:17]>> Yeah. Why celebrate the day? Why celebrate? Uh if we can >> understand what is the crucial role of the bees, then we need or we must create create an awareness and not only the importance but what are the threats that is being affected to the honey industry.

[01:46:36]One of them I can say and and and I proudly say that bees pollinate daily 5,000 plants flowers. That is one of what they can do and 12 bees can gather one teaspoon of honey for their entire life. So if we can see what is the importance and what they do is pollinate and if we don't have pollination happening across the world then food will be in a threat and that is what is or can be happen if we don't pay attention to this. Mhm.

[01:47:10]>> So it's more than just making honey for persons who would like to choose that over sugar. It's about food security.

[01:47:17]They play a role in food security as well. Here in Bise, we have a specific type of bee in the country, I believe.

[01:47:23]Yes. It's the Africanized.

[01:47:25]>> That's right. You you are very aware of what we have. I >> I remember you came here last year and I I I was paying close attention.

[01:47:33]>> Right. We have over 20,000 species of bees in general. But what we can find here in Bise are the three main the stingless bees which were the native bees were the first ones produce small amount of honey but it is a medicinal purpose honey. We have the ais maleifera the Africanized bees and there are solitary bees also that you normally see in the wild and one of that but what we um want to bring across to this is how or what we are doing from the ministry of agriculture recently we had few years before we had many calls to our office B reports B reports that were among the community >> if we can see beyond that in our the vegetative areas many are diverting to other activities and destroying many many vegetative areas. Now bees don't know don't know and don't have much of that area now there swarming to our communities and what was done unfortunately it was eliminated >> but from October last year a cabinet paper was approved >> and from since then we train across biz like 10 to 15 beekeepers that they will be responsible now for relocating the swarms within the community and not eliminating. So those colonies that are now relocated from the community now to the beekeeping industry and now that will create a boost and we create a new set of colonies in the industry for more production, for more pollination and for more people to generate income.

[01:49:04]>> To simplify, you guys are putting the bees to work. You're moving them from these hostile areas and giving them something to do.

[01:49:11]>> What are beekeepers producing?

[01:49:14]Well, at the moment the good morning uh to our viewers and good morning. Thanks for the opportunity. The main product that's being brought to us is honey.

[01:49:22]Although zombie beekeepers are now diversifying after a training that the ministry along with the corup group and BNDC did a training in Merida for byproducts. So they're doing their own wax sheets now. They are doing candles.

[01:49:34]They're doing syrups. Uh they're doing c syrups out of honey. So all of these things are derivatives from the raw honey that we produce and definitely will create more income for these beekeepers rather than just depending on honey.

[01:49:45]>> So what do we have in front of us by way of these products?

[01:49:49]>> What we have here is the main product uh that they bring to us honey and this is just filtered honey. So it's it's it's in raw form. It's not altered. It's not um done to anything to nothing added to it.

[01:50:01]>> Nothing added to it. It's >> so what makes it uh different colors?

[01:50:04]>> Okay. Well, it has to do with the time in which the the beekeepers harvest because the season normally runs depending on the weather again between beginning of March like ending of June before the rain and weather start. So during that time there's different flation, different flowers sprouting. So that when the bees collect the nectars to make the honey, it might be different flowers. So at times you'll see clear like in the middle >> and at times it come as dark as this one. Wow. Um what the ministry has been doing a lot lately is promoting that the dark honey is has more medicinal attributes to it. Does it have a different taste?

[01:50:34]>> Yes, it it is a little bit more more um a little bit harder I would say in the taste, >> but it is more has more medicinal attributes to >> it.

[01:50:42]>> So when you say like medicinal attributes, I would take that with a little bit of lime or cayenne pepper and cough.

[01:50:47]>> That's right.

[01:50:48]>> Ah versus putting that in my oatmeal.

[01:50:50]>> That's right. Because the clear one is more for like sweetening.

[01:50:53]>> Ah. So how does how does BMDC go about promoting these products? Like how do you partner with the beekeepers? Um at the moment I must say we're working with one cooperative that has 21 members.

[01:51:06]Okay. And we are also working with the Esql group in Corrosal but that has been off and on depending on the demand for the honey. But what we do is that we work along closely with Mr. Wertas and his team to go and do aper inspections.

[01:51:19]That's a must before we buy the honey from the beekeepers. So that we inspect every aper for all the beekeepers that are interested in selling to us. Then once the apies look healthy and they have been doing the all the technical work that they should do according to the ministry then we go proceed to purchase their honey.

[01:51:35]>> So you all do the bottling and the labeling after you purchase the honey.

[01:51:38]>> Yes, that's right. So our job we the same thing with the rice that we package the same thing with the fruits that we package.

[01:51:45]>> We don't produce it. We simply package and distribute. So we are kind of easing off the job on the beekeepers because now they can entertain and concentrate themselves fully in production with the quality honey >> and we'll take care of all the marketing side.

[01:51:57]>> That's right.

[01:51:57]>> I want to look really quickly at the bees that you brought here with us with you Miguel. Um there are different displays here >> right well here we can see what is a queen lifted up.

[01:52:09]>> There is only one in this queen bee.

[01:52:12]>> That's right.

[01:52:14]Also, we have the female. She's a female fertile female.

[01:52:19]>> This one is a female, which is the worker, but she's not completely fertile.

[01:52:23]>> How can you tell when there's like what the queen be?

[01:52:26]>> Her abdomen is longer.

[01:52:27]>> Oh, I see that.

[01:52:29]>> She is fed with royal jelly, so she develops longer.

[01:52:32]>> So, she is can I can I tell you? And for our management, we replace her every year or the latest every two years.

[01:52:40]>> Okay. So, this is the queen bee and the abdomen area is longer as they said.

[01:52:46]>> That's right.

[01:52:47]>> I don't think I could spot this though with all the other bees.

[01:52:50]>> It's bigger, right?

[01:52:51]>> She can lay up to 2,500 eggs per day.

[01:52:54]>> And then what we have here, >> that is the worker bee.

[01:52:57]>> This is Are they female? Those are females, but they cannot lay an egg.

[01:53:02]>> So, you would see them >> the lar they cannot lay.

[01:53:06]>> How do you know these are females? the size of their body, the the anatomy of the colony. Now in this one at the very this end we have a worker a drone sorry which is the male.

[01:53:19]>> So the males are drones >> are bigger more >> muscular or >> and their responsibility is to mate with the queen.

[01:53:26]>> So this is this is a drone >> at the bottom >> and these are females.

[01:53:31]>> These are females workers.

[01:53:33]>> Oh yeah. You could see how you could see the size of the me like bulky >> right makes me feel good about myself.

[01:53:42]The role and responsibility is for ventilating side but it major role is to fertile the queen.

[01:53:47]>> The the drones >> unfortunately those are the first ones that get expelled from the colony when there is not >> we know the story.

[01:53:54]>> What happens >> what happens? So they fertilize the queen >> and then they get kicked out for >> during the dirt period when there is not much feed in the colony in the in the wild what we normally feed them they get removed from the colony. When you say get removed, what do you mean? Like >> they get kicked out.

[01:54:12]>> They get kicked out.

[01:54:13]>> Unfortunately, >> do they language?

[01:54:15]>> Do they fight to >> see who will fertile the fertilize the queen >> in that is mating flight? Normally when a colony doesn't have a queen, then she's replaced.

[01:54:27]Now she does one mate flight.

[01:54:30]>> One mate flight.

[01:54:30]>> Out of that main flight, 12 to 17 drones will meet her in the air.

[01:54:35]>> Oh. And once that drone meet her in the air that drone will die after mating and then the the queen will be enough probably 12 17 drones and she will be back in the colony. She will not get out from there since that.

[01:54:48]>> So one one flight to mate.

[01:54:51]>> Yes.

[01:54:51]>> And out of those 12 to 17 drones only one will succeed.

[01:54:57]>> No those 17 the 17 and the fittest ones will reach her because she's flying at a speed.

[01:55:02]>> Yes. on the air she will meet >> and then she will the the drones will die immediately.

[01:55:08]>> All right.

[01:55:09]>> And she will continue laying egg 2,500 egg for the first year and from that we replace her.

[01:55:14]>> Wow.

[01:55:15]>> Wow.

[01:55:16]>> Nature is mother nature is amazing.

[01:55:19]>> I'm really interested.

[01:55:20]>> And they have pest as well.

[01:55:21]>> Yeah. So and and that's what we have here. When you say they have pests, what does that mean?

[01:55:26]>> This is the the the colony itself bees.

[01:55:28]Like for example, this one is the small high beetle. the the what?

[01:55:32]>> Small hive beetle.

[01:55:34]>> Okay. Small hive beetle.

[01:55:35]>> And how this affect this feeds within the colony and defecates in the honey and then it spoils the the honey in the sense of >> and then this one >> and this is like this is a verouomite.

[01:55:46]>> Those are like thicks. They stick on the body of the bee and suck right.

[01:55:50]>> You guys can transmit disease >> very small.

[01:55:53]>> Recently we had a situation in Kyo where we visit a Eper and the level of infestation was very high. immediately had to be in control.

[01:56:03]>> Not control.

[01:56:05]>> We have several uh products that we can use. One of them is Timol. It is a very natural product. We don't try to use any chemical because we are consuming honey.

[01:56:14]>> So we apply timol on them and then it controls.

[01:56:18]>> Wow. That's that's incredible. And uh you also brought another important part of an apiary there. Um I don't know how we could reach it, but um yeah. Can you can you just scoot it over a bit? Um, this just we just want to give those who've never been exposed to any of these stuff. How heavy is it? Is it heavy? Yes. You could pull out one. You could bring one over.

[01:56:39]>> Oh, yeah.

[01:56:40]>> Yes. That's a frame. Normally 10 of those are in a in a in a height.

[01:56:44]>> In a box.

[01:56:45]>> What are we looking at here?

[01:56:47]>> What you're seeing is the technical box.

[01:56:50]>> The technical box.

[01:56:51]>> The brood chamber. But it has his base, his cover, and 10 frames, which is the brood chamber. Now in the field bees just firm their their wax sheets like normal or you can see but now it is technical because we can remove and put back.

[01:57:06]>> So bees can will we put in a wax sheet a foundation work sheet in the middle and we stretch it out. There are some pictures in that I have shared >> once they have it stretched they can put three things on it. one honey, the other larvae or the other pollen and it is distributed in order inside the colony.

[01:57:26]In the middle is brood in the in the aloe to the sides to the extremes is honey >> and one after the extreme one on the side is pollen. That's how they store and at the top we can have second super or even the third the third normally is a honey super where we have only honey in top and when it is completely full 70% or 80 sealed with honey then it is harvested.

[01:57:54]>> How do you harvest honey? Do you squeeze it? They have a machine that squishes it. There is a harvester an extractor which with by centrifugal force it extracts the honey but we uncapped >> by what centrifugal force >> centrifugal force like grind >> it spins it spins within a drum like this.

[01:58:12]>> So we put like four frames hanging off the drum and by the time it spins all the honey drips out from that.

[01:58:18]>> So when you when when you have finished harvesting all you're going to see is just the initial >> the initial wax sheet >> all the honey would drip off from it >> and then it's collected in the drum. And of course, he has like a little valve in which you can fill out the buckets, the food grade buckets that they use. And that's how they bring it to us to sell it.

[01:58:33]>> And then that's just honey.

[01:58:34]>> That's just honey.

[01:58:35]>> So they don't have to add anything else.

[01:58:37]>> Nothing at all. They just filter it to remove the excess wax and uh maybe pollen that may be or even bees inside the honey. So just the pure honey gets filtered into the bucket.

[01:58:46]>> It's so amazing that these little these little workers make some of the most delicious, you know, and even like healthy uh products for our consumption as well. when you think of the things that we've used honey for.

[01:58:59]>> I got to say also Sabah what I appreciate is how we've transformed the idea of um bees being dangerous and we need to eliminate them to really creating a new mindset that has led us to develop products that are now on the market. I think that's incredible and I have to big you all up for the amazing job you are doing in terms of transforming the mindsets of bles where this is concerned >> and of course we have to thank our beekeepers who go all the way out to because that's extreme hard work and especially in this hot weather right now um to be in a suit like that protective suit >> especially like around 101 when they're harvesting it's no joke so >> one of the things I wanted to ask is do they have a time frame that they have to ensure that they pull out these sheets Um and if they don't like it spoils or something like that.

[01:59:51]>> Well, it is a matter of understanding and knowing when >> because if we don't do it at time the colony can swarm, a portion can leave and that is automatically how they reproduce in the wild. But since we are working, we are managing we want to control what we have. So we have to be there to harvest when it is completely sealed. Most of them there are normally 10 in the top. Sorry, eight and two at the bottom. We harvest the 10 of them and we replace. If we don't do that, the colony will be doesn't have space where to work and automatically a portion can swarm.

[02:00:26]>> So that's where we >> and so they go and they make a new home to to work some more.

[02:00:30]>> So rather sorry before they do that, we do what we need to do and even multiply colonies when we are ready.

[02:00:37]>> Oh wow, that's amazing.

[02:00:38]>> Yeah. So and that equipment that you're seeing there just for reference um BNDC works closely with beekeepers. So we do purchase this equipment and beekeepers who are interested or new beekeepers are coming on board. You could get all your protective gear, your smokers, your gloves, everything that you need for beekeeping, we can get that for them as part of what the ministry offers to beepers. So the BMC is the part that does that portion.

[02:00:59]>> Excellent. Well, gentlemen, as we uh wrap up the conversation, I'll uh ask uh for persons who are interested in learning more about beekeeping and perhaps getting further resources, how can they reach out to you guys? We have on all districts we have one station and there is one person responsible to honey. So reach your nearest um department ministry of agriculture in your district and then you can get the training information all what you need.

[02:01:26]Also we have put on our Facebook page ministry for agriculture the names of the new trained experts removing the colonies and we will update that >> in new days few days. All right, >> that is for the technical side.

[02:01:43]>> Now for the marketing side, we want to encourage because we are looking for export market. We are still on the on the go and it's almost on its final stages. We will need a lot more beekeepers. So we encourage the beekeepers to get in touch with the ministry of agriculture. So we could have them in the system and be able to purchase from eventually because honey is money at the end of the day, right?

[02:02:02]>> Honey.

[02:02:03]>> So beekeepers need to be aware of this.

[02:02:06]there is market for it and we will do our portion to ensure that the ministry grows >> because when the export uh deal is struck there's be high demand and we need to supply >> and we need to supply our country still we can't forget our local consumption right now >> makes me want to get into the business so it's very lucrative well gentlemen thank you so much for joining us this has been uh quite an interesting conversation I've learned some stuff and we also thank you for bringing some items to show us as well and to show you guys by extension >> yes >> all right well we do have to wrap things up at this time. It's been a wonderful morning and we want to say thank you to all of our guests who joined us. You guys for locking in and engaging with us in the comments section as well. It is May 21st. And if you're celebrating a birthday today, happy birthday to you.

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[02:03:12]>> And we have a phone number. Uh that's 6752555.

[02:03:16]But please do us a favor and join us again tomorrow for what the Friday.

[02:03:20]>> Yeah.

[02:03:21]>> When you open your eyes >> and start your morning right. Until then, be sure to keep your eyes, your mind, >> and your hearts open.

[02:03:28]>> Have a wonderful Thursday, uh, Friday, Junior, and we'll catch you tomorrow.

[02:03:33]Bye.

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