Readers of my letters and posts on facebook and on Linkedin will have noticed already that I have most recently copied news articles and stories with less focus on local occurrences and happenings but all having important messages, I feel, for Solomon Islanders and their concerns for developments and research into health matters, climate change, climate change financial promises to mitigate the impact of the impact of sea rise, food garden losses and unemployment and job opportunities being pursued by the SIG and the Australian government.
My reasons for having to give broader coverage of news stories is because of my age and decline in health suffering from a terminal illness and disability caused by a fall in 2020. I find it difficult to sit 10 to 12 hours at my computer daily to bring to you the coverage I would like of purely local news matters.
That said, I still concern myself sufficiently to write about the pressing health needs of local people, especially those that are handicapped by disability, ill health such as all NCD related sickness, the need for help for all suffering from rheumatic heart disease and heart fever, the limbless patients of the National Referral Hospital (NRH) and disadvantaged citizens, whether by deafness, poverty, loss of income, those who have lost loved ones, gender inequality, those unable to pay school fees, those finding it difficult to access rural health clinics and those missing out on vitally important health screening programs as part of a national health service.
I concern myself, too, about good governance, the allegations of corruption, national unity and true reconciliation to heal the wounds of the past and see the nation prosper.
I have not forgotten you and never will forget the honour I had in my younger days of being present to serve the country and still try my best to keep my pledge after more than two decades., albeit these days with a lessening of material and equipment support but by encouraging support via my website available internationally and accessed by millions since 2014 when I first launched it.
Sincerely
Frank Short
