Friday 28 January 2011

Graduates can be change agents

by Mwesigye Gumisiriza

Graduation marks a major milestone in the life of anyone who has completed his or her course at the university. The award may be a diploma or a bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctorate degree but it shows that the individual on whom it is conferred has successfully completed all the educational requirements for a particular academic programme of study.

The ceremony of graduation also symbolises the “rite of passage” of the graduates from the university into the world. As such, for many, it is the beginning of their lives after school. In our kind of society, it is the “end of books” as we tend to say and we turn our efforts to “making money”. So, the focus turns to getting jobs, acquiring wealth, building homes, starting families and related activities.

But this begs the question: Is this all we can look forward to as we graduate from the university (especially Makerere University)?

Every other Tom, Dick and Harriet in Uganda is more or less focused to having such an ordinary life. So, by graduating from Uganda’s premier university that has also gained international repute, more should be expected from such a graduate. If he or she has been equipped with the skills to use his or her capacities to work, study, comprehend ideas, ask and answer questions, and solve problems, among others; then he or she has great potential. However, this potential can only remain that, if it is not tapped and exploited for the benefit of society.

The other question is who should tap this potential and how should it be utilised for the benefit of society?

Already, graduates are going to be absorbed in the public and private sectors, either self-employed or as employees of the various institutions or organisations. Therefore, they will be working towards achieving the goals of their employers.

In a society like ours, graduates can be change agents through volunteerism and philanthropy, an aspect that has not been given its due attention. A change agent is someone who engages either deliberately or whose behaviour results in social, cultural or behavioural change in Uganda through volunteerism and philanthropy.

Volunteerism is the willingness of people to work on behalf of others without the expectation of pay or other tangible gain. Philanthropy, on the other hand, includes voluntary giving by an individual or group to promote the common good; this can be in terms of time, money and energy.

There are many ways in which graduates can help the communities they will work and live in. For instance, they can mobilise themselves and sensitise the people in Kisenyi slum about the health benefits of living in a clean environment. They could further this and lead by example by buying brooms, shovels and other cleaning equipment to clean up the drainage channels in the Kifumbira area of Kamwokya. Also, just like one would “throw” half a million shillings towards the organisation of a kwanjula or wedding, he or she can similarly use such an amount to purchase mosquito nets for people in Kapchorwa.

Eventually, little by little, such efforts can spread countrywide as more and more communities are encouraged to take up this spirit spurred on the graduates. However, for this to succeed, we have to start today with that small step that will enable us cover that journey of a thousand miles. We will have to look at volunteerism and philanthropy as a service and a duty and not something we do as a hobby or an opportunity for media coverage or a gimmick to get votes!

This is a slightly edited and updated version of an article first published in The Graduate Magazine Vol 1 No 1.

Thursday 20 January 2011

Ekitafferi: A Natural Cancer Killer

I received this information through an e-mail from a colleague, and in the interest of spreading the word, below is the story (which i have slightly edited for brevity and clarity).

The soursop or the fruit from the graviola tree (known as ekitaffeeri in Luganda) is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy.

This tree is low and is called graviola in Brazil , guanabana in Spanish and has the uninspiring name "soursop" in English. The fruit is very large and the subacid sweet white pulp is eaten out of hand or, more commonly, used to make fruit drinks, sherbets and such.

The principal interest in this plant is because of its strong anti-cancer effects. Although it is effective for a number of medical conditions, it is its anti tumor effect that is of most interest. This plant is a proven cancer remedy for cancers of all types.

Besides being a cancer remedy, graviola is a broad spectrum anti-microbial agent for both bacterial and fungal infections, is effective against internal parasites and worms, lowers high blood pressure and is used for depression, stress and nervous disorders.

If there ever was a single example that makes it dramatically clear why the existence of Health Sciences Institute is so vital to Americans like you, it's the incredible story behind the Graviola tree.

The truth is stunningly simple: Deep within the Amazon Rainforest grows a tree that could literally revolutionize what you, your doctor, and the rest of the world thinks about cancer treatment and chances of survival. The future has never looked more promising.

Research shows that with extracts from this miraculous tree it now may be possible to:

* Attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss
* Protect your immune system and avoid deadly infections
* Feel stronger and healthier throughout the course of the treatment
* Boost your energy and improve your outlook on life

The source o f this information is just as stunning: It comes from one of America’s largest drug manufacturers, the fruit of over 20 laboratory tests conducted since the 1970's! What those tests revealed was nothing short of mind numbing.

Extracts from the tree were shown to:

* Effectively target and kill malignant cells in 12 types of cancer, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreatic cancer.
* The tree compounds proved to be up to 10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells than Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug!
* What's more, unlike chemotherapy, the compound extracted from the Graviola tree selectively hunts down and kills only cancer cells.

It does not harm healthy cells!

The amazing anti-cancer properties of the Graviola tree have been extensively researched so why haven't you heard anything about it? If Graviola extract is as half as promising as it appears to be, why doesn't every single oncologist at every major hospital insist on using it on all his or her patients?

The spine-chilling answer illustrates just how easily our health and for many, our very lives (!) are controlled by money and power. One of America 's biggest billion-dollar drug makers began a search for a cancer cure and their research centered on Graviola, a legendary healing tree from the Amazon Rainforest.

Various parts of the Graviola tree--including the bark, leaves, roots, fruit and fruit-seeds- -have been used for centuries by medicine men and native Indians in South America to treat heart disease, asthma, liver problems and arthritis.

Going on very little documented scientific evidence, the company poured money and resources into testing the tree's anti-cancerous properties—and were shocked by the results. Graviola proved itself to be a cancer-killing dynamo.

But that's where the Graviola story nearly ended.

The company had one huge problem with the Graviola tree--it's completely natural, and so, under federal law, not patentable. There's no way to make serious profits from it.

It turns out the drug company invested nearly seven years trying to synthesize two of the Graviola tree's most powerful anti-cancer ingredients. If they could isolate and produce man-made clones of what makes the Graviola so potent, they'd be able to patent it and make their money back.

Alas, they hit a brick wall. The original simply could not be replicated. There was no way the company could protect its profits--or even make back the millions it poured into research.

As the dream of huge profits evaporated, their testing on Graviola came to a screeching halt. Even worse, the company shelved the entire project and chose not to publish the findings of its research!

Luckily, however, there was one scientist from the Graviola research team whose conscience wouldn't let him see such atrocity committed. Risking his career, he contacted a company that's dedicated to harvesting medical plants from the Amazon Rainforest and blew the whistle.

Miracle unleashed

When researchers at the Health Sciences Institute were alerted to the news of Graviola, they began tracking the research done on the cancer-killing tree. Evidence of the astounding effectiveness of Graviola--and its shocking cover-up--came in fast and furious....

....The National Cancer Institute performed the first scientific research in 1976.
The results showed that Graviola's "leaves and stems were found effective in attacking and destroying malignant cells." Inexplicably, the results were published in an internal report and never released to the public...

...Since 1976, Graviola has proven to be an immensely potent cancer killer in 20 independent laboratory tests, yet no double-blind clinical trials…the typical benchmark mainstream doctors and journals use to judge a treatment's value were ever initiated.

A study published in the Journal of Natural Products, following a recent study conducted at Catholic University of South Korea stated that one chemical in Graviola was found to selectively kill colon cancer cells at "10,000 times the potency of (the commonly used chemotherapy drug) Adriamycin....The most significant part of the Catholic University of South Korea report is that Graviola was shown to selectively target the cancer cells, leaving healthy cells untouched.

Unlike chemotherapy, which indiscriminately targets all actively reproducing cells (such as stomach and hair cells), causing the often devastating side effects of nausea and hair loss in cancer patients.

A study at Purdue University recently found that leaves from the Graviola tree killed cancer cells among six human cell lines and were especially effective against prostate, pancreatic and lung cancers...

Seven years of silence broken--it's finally here!

A limited supply of Graviola extract, grown and harvested by indigenous people in Brazil, is finally available in America.

The full Graviola Story--including where you can get it and how to use it--is included in Beyond Chemotherapy: New Cancer Killers, Safe as Mother's Milk, a Health Sciences Institute free special bonus report on natural substances that will effectively revolutionize the fight against cancer.