Find the program in various towns:  Branford, BCTV; East Haven – ETV; North Haven – NHTV, Totoket TV in North Branford, COMCAST CHAN. 18. Comcast Chan. 34 in Clinton; Comcast Chan 10 in all Valley towns  (TUES. 7:30PM); Comcast Chan. 15 in Middletown, Cromwell, East Hampton, Portland, Middlefield,  and on Charter Communications, Community Visions 21 (M & F) 

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO ANSWER:
 *    Is there a history of cancer in your family?  
 *    What are Cancer Genetic Markers? 
 *    How would you know if you have them?
 *    Ever heard of BRCA1 & BRCA2?  How about P53? 
 *    How old was your mother’s father when he died? 
 *    How old was your mother’s mother when she died?  
 *    Do you know what disease either died from?

HOW CAN SUCH INFORMATION INFORM DECISIONS YOU MAY NEED TO MAKE ABOUT YOUR LIFE AND YOUR HEALTH CARE?  INFORMATION HELPS YOU TO BE PROACTIVE.

Knowledge of family medical history is important.  You are better off knowing.  What are the benefits, if any, of cancer screening and testing? 

Find out on Sunday, May 20, 7-8pm on Comcast Channel 26 on OneWorld’s  “21st Century Conversations” w/N’Zinga Shani

Watch Cancer Genetic Counseling, Screening & Testing.  A OneWorld Educational Presentation on Public Access Channels in CT

• Yale’s Ellen Matloff joins N’Zinga Shäni for an enlightening 1-hr conversation about the Genetic History of Cancer in families.

• Only 10 percent of cancers are genetic; that 10 percent can mean life or death.  Knowing your family’s cancer history can be important.

  Some geneticists say if you don’t have at least two relatives with the same type of cancer on the same side of your family,you may not have to be concerned about having inherited cancer genes.  The fact is — that might not be definitive.  Knowing your family history back to your grandparents on both sides of the family is important and helpful.  Another case where KNOWLEDGE IS TRULY POWER. It helps you to make more informed decisions.

•  There are mothers who have had to sacrifice meeting their own basic needs every day to ensure that their children can eat, drink and have a roof over their heads. 

• There are mothers from various walks of life who have sacrificed their freedom.

• Some have gone to jail for being strong and committed advocates for their children. 

• There are those who now have a felony record for trying to get their children a better education in a different school district.

• Many mothers have been maligned and misjudged and even legally abused for trying to give their children a better life than the one they have had.

• There are mothers who have sacrificed their limbs and even their lives in order to save their children from harm. Recently a mother lost both legs to save her children’s lives during a Tornado. Mothers who can’t swim jump in deep waters to retrieve their children. The power and strength of a mother’s love is remarkable.  A 120 pound woman lifts a truck off her child! The “real” mother gives up her child to save his life.  The POWER of LOVE.

• There are those who have to be constantly on-the-run in order to keep their children safe from predators within their family structure.
• As a society we have come a long way in the past 20 years in valuing the lives and well-being of women. Yet, in many parts of this great country, there are still areas where women’s lives are less valued and therefore they are less safe.  Areas where men can and do dictate what happens to women in all types of circumstances.
• The committed, hardworking, focused woman, mother, grandmother, manager, is still called the “B” word, or she is difficult and demanding, but a man with the same traits is a good leader; he is no-nonsense; he can get things done. Men can still take credit for women’s achievements. 
• In many instances mothers are blamed for children’s failures, but not as quickly credited for children’s success.  Of course, as mothers we cannot be concerned about that.  We simply bring the best resources we have to the table of parenting.

Whether our children are young or older, whether they are at home or out on their own, the role of mother is most often a perpetual one.  We constantly need inspiration and guidance so that we can always “do the right thing” for our children.  Of course, they are always our children.  So often we don’t know what the right thing is, but we function from a position of love, concern, care and most of all HOPE that whatever we do will be the right thing.  Whether you are with your child, children, and or grandchildren today, please take a few minutes to reflect on what you have accomplished.  Be generous with yourself; being a mother is the toughest job in the world. It is particularly tough when we have to be mother and father; when we are the only support system our children have.

It sometimes take our entire lifetime to know if we got it right and on whose terms.  Throughout time Mothers, and for many of us Grandmothers or Great-Grandmothers, have been the banks where we deposited all of our hurts and hopes; they have been the nurturers of our dreams,  our Pillars of Strength. For all of this we reserve one day each year to show recognition.  However, we can show our appreciation daily in ways that reinforce the strength needed by all the women who shoulder the responsibility of motherhood every day.

Regardless of the outcomes being a mother challenges us to learn and GROW.  With a little luck we get the opportunity to be more effective, wiser, thoughtful and more inspirational and influential grandmothers for generations.

Whatever may be each individual circumstance, we hope this day offers some positive reflections and HOPE. We hope there is peace in the hearts of those who have mothered. 

 N’Zinga Shani, OneWorld Progressive Institute, Inc   (Mother & Grandmother)

In 2012 the choice is now either 3.4 percent student loans or access to affordable health care?

CAROLE G. IN ATLANTA SAYS:  PERSONALLY, I DO NOT KNOW WHY IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO GET HEALTH CARE FOR ALL AMERICANS, IN AMERICA. OTHER COUNTRIES, EVEN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES, HAVE MANAGED TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR SICK AND SUFFERING.

WHY DON’T SOME HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES WANT THE GOVT. TO REGULATE OR AUDIT THEM? THEY HAVE BEEN GETTING AWAY WITH EXPLOITING THE CONSUMER LONG ENOUGH. WHY CAN’T THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THE COST OF HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA HAS REACHED CATASTROPHIC LEVELS AND WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT OTHERWISE IT IS THE ONE THING THAT CAN TRULY BANKRUPT THE COUNTRY?  THAT, AND THE WARS THAT WERE STARTED BY THE BUSH GOV’T THAT HAVE US BOGGED DOWN.

WE CANNOT AFFORD TO STAY IN THESE WARS, AND WE ALMOST CANNOT AFFORD TO LEAVE. GOD KNOWS WE HAVE SPENT BILLIONS IN THESE WARS AND I DO NOT HEAR ANYONE COMPLAINING. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE SAME PEOPLE CRYING NO HEALTH CARE FOR THE MASSES ARE THE SAME ONES SAYING ‘SEND MORE TROOPS TO WAR AT THE EXPENSE OF OUR ECONOMY.’

THE ONES WHO SAY WE ARE KILLING UNBORN BABIES AT HOME, ARE THE SAME ONES SAYING SEND OUR BABIES TO GIVE THEIR LIVES IN A WAR BASED ON LIES. (NOT TO MENTION THE UNTOLD INNOCENT PEOPLE OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.) WE ARE IN A VERY DIFFICULT SITUATION,  BUT IF AMERICANS DO NOT DIE IN WARS THEY WILL CERTAINLY DIE, AND ARE CERTAINLY DYING AT HOME FROM SICKNESS AND TOO MANY DRUGS BEING PUMPED INTO THEIR BODIES AND FROM LACK OF CARE. COME ON!!!! DO NOT THINK OF YOUR POCKETS ONLY, HAVE A HEART FOR HUMANITY.  DRUG MANUFACTURERS DO NOT WANT HEALTH CARE REFORM. THEY WANT UNLIMITED PROFITS. WHERE ARE THE ETHICS THEY PRINCIPLES WE HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT? WHERE ARE THE CONSERVATIVE  CHRISTIAN VALUES?

WRITE TO YOUR SENATOR AND EVERY ELECTED OFFICIAL IN YOUR STATE. URGE THEM TO PASS HEALTH CARE REFORM. DO NOT ALLOW THE FILTHY RICH TO DICTATE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE POOR. VETERANS RETURNING FROM IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN ARE BEING DENIED HEALTH CARE DUE TO BUREAUCRATIC FOUL UPS. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW THE OPPRESSORS TO WIN. 

 UPDATE POSTED MAY 10, 2012:  Sadly, the oppressors have won.  Now Health Care Reform is in the hands of the Supreme Court. In the hands of a justice who mouthed that the President is a liar during the State of the Union address.  A Supreme Court where a majority of the justices seem to care less about what is ethical, fair and honest jurisprudence and more about what is philosophical doctrine.  We only have to visit some of the health clinics in poor innercity neighborhoods in many areas of America to see the devastating effects of a lack of health care; the effects of health care out of the reach of poor and lower incomed Americans.  Many of the one percenters need to take a trip into some parts of innercity America.   This week Republicans want to strip away more of the access to health care for poor Americans  by holding hostage the loan rates for college students.  They will NOT vote to prevent the student loan rate from doubling from the now 3.4 to 6.8 percent unless they are allowed to strip away some of the key benefits of health care reform!!!  How can people who call themselves principled, christians, conservatives, etc. etc., do so much to prevent students from lower income families to access a college education?  How can they hold the health of average Americans hostage? 

When President Obama was first elected Republican leader, Mitch McConnell said: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”

Again in July 2011, as reported  by Matt Schneider | 5:42 pm, July 10th, 2011 Mr. McConnell restated his position:  Sen. McConnell: Making Obama A One-Term President Is My Single Most Important Political Goal.”   This is at a time when the country is in a deep recession, something that the Republicans did nothing about except to fight as hard as they could and can to protect the vast wealth of the one percenters in America.  Nothing seems to be more important to the Republican leadership than prevent the wealthiest Americans from paying their fair share of taxes, getting the largest return on their investments, keeping President Obama from being re-elected and keeping America a very divided nation of very rich, a small middleclass and a massive amount of poor underclass.

• National health care reform helps all Americans | OregonLive.com

•  www.oregonlive.com › The Stump › oped

• Health Care Reforms www.nachc.org/

• Health care reform in america  – www.voices.org/ What are the Pros and Cons
  for 50K Americans in 2012?

• Health Care Reform  www.acslaw.org/  Constitutional? See what the experts have to say.

• What does health reform  www.preventioninstitute.org/mean for public health?
  Access updates and resources.

• Senate Republicans Block Bill to Freeze Student Loan Rates  apicciano.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2012/…/senate-republicans-block-bi…

• Alexander Calls For Vote On “Bipartisan Proposal” To Reduce …  www.chattanoogan.com/2012/…/Alexander-Calls-For-Vote-On-Bipar… Our only disagreement with Senator alexander is that the filthy rich are not creating jobs

• Student Loans News – The New York Times   topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/…/s/student_loans/index.html

• House Democrats Announce New Bill to Keep Student Loan Interest ….  democrats.edworkforce.house.gov › Media Center › Press Releases

CAROLE G.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA

(This post was first submitted to OneWorld Nov. 9, 2009 by Carole G. from Atlanta, Georgia; it was updated on 5/10/12)

OneWorld Progressive Institute Salutes Great Teachers Everywhere.  YOU MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE. Your Students Will Remember You for Years to Come. 

Great teachers change lives for generations.  “I remember her 50 years later” was the winning six-word essay in the StudentsFirst 2011 Essay Contest.  Such is the impact of a great teacher.

More often than not outstanding teachers are not immediately recognized by their school systems, or even by their students.  Frequently, we recognize and appreciate our exceptional teachers after the fact.  Sometimes it is only after encountering a poor teacher, or even more sadly a series of mediocre teachers that we recognize in retrospect that one of our past teachers was truly exceptional.  For those of us who are lucky we recognize and appreciate great teachers immediately, and we make best use of their gifts and commitment.  This is why parents, grandparents, babysitters and the people who are in our lives when we are very young are so important; they are in fact our first teachers, and they prepare us to learn.  If we are well prepared to learn we are more likely to recognize good, great, or exceptional teachers as soon as we encounter them.  Teaching is truly a noble and exceptional profession.  Besides parents and early guardians of young children who else has the opportunity to have such lasting impact on our lives?  This is why the people we hire to babysit our children, and the daycare centers we choose, are really very important; they are likely to leave an imprint on our children. 

Haim G. Ginott said it best: “Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.” 

Sadly, that is not a commonly recognized fact.  Too often many go into teaching as a fall-back position, or because they could not get into other perceived-to-be more challenging or more valuable careers.  Our education system in America more highly rewards teachers in high schools and colleges rather than in kindergarten and grade schools where the foundation for academic learning and success is established.  Early education teachers are often seen as low on the totem pole in the recognition system.  In fact, they should be among the best trained, highest skilled, most innovative and dynamic people in the education link.  Teachers don’t have impact just for the year or few that a child spends in their classrooms. Teachers, good or bad, can impact a child’s entire lifetime. We should ensure that children’s first exposure to education both in the home and at school is positive, exciting, productive and forward-looking. 

An old Chinese proverb says: “Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.”  When that door to learning is opened for children in ways that inspire curiosity, generate questions, and make finding the answers an exciting and self-propelling adventure children become life-long learners.  Such children become academically successful; they become outstanding contributors to our society, and they become inspiring leaders.   Most importantly, they too become exceptional teachers. 

Today,  in 2012,  America needs really outstanding, dedicated, skilled and committed teachers who recognize the importance of what they do.  And the American public education systems across the country need to recognize the need for and the importance of well-trained, totally skilled, dedicated teachers.  From the Federal level to the local district the American education system should do everything possible to improve education from the Early Childhood level to the university.  Teachers should be rewarded for the importance of their work and for their achievements in the classrooms.   Teachers should also be held accountable for doing a good day’s work everyday.  Having a topnotch public school system means having the best educators; it is the most important investment we will ever make in our country because America’s future  depends greatly on an enlightened, educated populace primed to acquire new skills, knowledge and understanding and ready for the 21st Century global society. 

http://www.oneworldpi.org/health/health_videos.html 

During the month of May OneWorld  Progressive Institute– your community resource for health literacy, education and civic engagement– will be airing informative education programs focusing exclusively on women’s health and well-being.  Watch AT&T Uverse, Channel 99, statewide in CT, and your local PEG access channel in Southern Connecticut (Comcast Channels 10, 15, 18, 26 & 34; Cox 15, and Charter Communications Ch. 21)  for our outstanding education programs on women’s health: Maintaining Health & Well-Being As Women Age, Gynecologic Cancers, Cancer Genetic Screening, Counseling and Testing, and Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES).

The national education campaign’s goal is to give women a personal and urgent wakeup call about their risk of heart disease.

1.      Who Are We Trying to Reach? We are focusing on women between the ages of 40 – 60, the age when a woman’s risk of heart disease starts to rise. 

• Because heart disease develops gradually and can start at a young age-even in the teenage years, the message is also important for younger women.
• Older women have an interest too—because it’s never too late to take action to prevent and control the risk factors for heart disease. 
• Even those who have heart disease can improve their heart health and quality of life.
• Heart disease kills more women age 65 years and older than all cancers combined.
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women age 65 years and older
• It’s the third-leading cause of death for women age 25 to 44 years
• And the second-leading cause of death for women age 45 to 64 years.
• Women under the age of 65 years who have a family history of heart disease should pay particularly close attention to the heart disease risk factors.
• Still, all women, of all ages, should take heart disease seriously.

2.  Heart Disease Disproportionately Affects Women of Color. African American and Hispanic women in particular have high rates of the major risk factors for heart disease, including:

• Obesity- More than 80 percent of midlife African American women are overweight or obese
• Physical inactivity- Move. Take brisk walks regularly to lower blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol, and blood glucose.
• High blood pressure – 52 percent of midlife African American women have high blood pressure
• Diabetes - 14 percent have been diagnosed with diabetes.
• Hispanic Women: About 83 percent of midlife Hispanic women are overweight or obese, and more than 10 percent have been diagnosed with diabetes.
•    Smoking and Heart Disease  www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/smoking-heart-disease

The campaign is especially aimed at women ages 40 to 60, the age when a woman’s risk of heart disease starts to rise. But its messages are also important for younger women. Heart disease disproportionately affects women of color. African American and Hispanic women in particular have high rates of the major risk factors for heart disease, including obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

The Heart Truth Women of Color initiative, with its partners, focuses on extending The Heart Truth messages, and engaging in national and local activities to help more women of color understand The Heart Truth-and inspire them to take action to reduce their risks for heart disease.

The campaign tells women that “The Heart Truth starts with you.    

•  Talk to your doctor, find out your risk, and take action today to lower it.”

•  Its messages are underscored by the moving stories of real women who are living with heart disease.

•  Sharon, Orlinda, Olga, and others have allowed the campaign to tell The Heart Truth using their faces, voices, and experiences in hopes that their Stories From The Heart will help other women take heart health seriously.     

• Additional Resources include: Online Toolkit will help you find and use other resources.
• This Faith-Based Activities Toolkit contains ideas and resources you can use to plan your own faith-based Heart Truth program.     

The Organizations Linked Below Provide Much Information for Hispanics & Faith-based Women Nationally and Internationally.  Explore all the links and learn more about Women of Color & Heart Disease.

National Latina Health Network (NLHN) launched www.nlhn.net/ Promoting health education for Latinas and families
Heart Healthy Day started in 2007 by conducting heart health screenings and education sessions in New York City, NY, Houston, TX, Chicago, IL, and Miami, FL, reaching more than 2,000 individuals with The Heart Truth messages. The NLHN’s Heart Healthy Day was covered by Telemundo, a media partner of the NLHN, and reached an estimated audience of 48,430,700. The NLHN also incorporated The Heart Truth into the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Su Corazon, Su Vida community education program to reach Latinas with low reading and health literacy levels.

The Heart TruthVideos – Want to know more about heart attack warning signs and risk factors like high blood pressure?

The Heart Truth Videos are short films that spotlight heart attack warning symptoms, heart attack risk factors, and the NHLBI’s The Heart Truth campaign.  See these videos and learn what to look for.   See these videos and learn what to watch for

• Heart Attack Warning Symptoms

• Heart Attack Warning Symptoms (Spanish)

• Heart Disease Risk Factors

• Heart Disease Risk Factors (Spanish)

• The Heart Truth Campaign

•  This Faith-Based Activities Toolkit contains ideas and resources you can use to plan your own faith-based Heart Truth program.

•   See also: National Institutes of Health

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services  

•  womenshealth.gov – The Office on Women’s Health provides information, tools, calculators, and statistics on women’s health topics … Heart attack for women. … May 1, 2012

• Women’s Health Calendar - Empowering women to live healthier lives!

Below are additional National Links Specifically for Women of Color:

1.  AME Church Connectional Health Commission— www.amechealth.org

2.  Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc.— www.abcardio.org

3.  Black Women’s Health Imperative  www.blackwomenshealth.org

4.  Favaloro Foundation: www.fundacionfavaloro.org/welcome/welcome_index.htm

5.  The League of United Latin American Citizens, Women— www.lulac.org/women.html

6.   The Links, Inc.— www.linksinc.org

7.  MANA, A National Latina Organization— www.hermana.org

8. Miss Black USA— www.missblackusa.org

9. National Association of Latina Leaders http://www.latinaleaders.org

10. National Black Nurses Association—www.nbna.org/