#i directly benefitted from this of the terms because unless I did show major signs and symptoms i dont

[tuliptiger]

Just saw a post about a person being upset or frazzled that depression and anxiety are the "everyman" mental illness. I want to proceed this by saying I am NOT going to be shitting on this person at all and they have a point but I didn't quite agree with uhm the tone or everything about it.

I don't think it's wrong or bad that these two specific mental illnesses have a wider understanding and reach. They have been watered down for lack of a better term because they have come to mean many things including less debilitating symptoms and signs. This is not to say it's bad, I don't think. I think it's objectively good that more people are able to look at themselves and talk with medical professionals and be able to be helped for any severity be it minor or major.

And that was their main point of contention though because the more debilitating cases of anxiety and depression are taken less seriously when using the terms "depression" and "anxiety". I think that is completely a valid point and reasonable thing to be upset about.

However...

I do not think the answer is to "take back" the terms and that also isn't what they said or implied either. What I really heard from them and that post was "when I talk about my life altering devastating mental illness I want to be taken seriously and understood without having to go into detail or explain it" (because the last part can and is incredibly exhausting and frustrating especially if it is not outright understood or has a base assumption of the less debilitating ideas and versions). What I heard was "I want to be taken seriously". That ISN'T what they said but it is what I understood from it.

In which case the solution to this is for people to respect each other, listen to each other with good intentions and faith, and take each other seriously when we talk about ourselves. Unfortunately that's an individual and societal problem that runs a little too deep for this post.

As for the terms, there probably does need to be a language separation between severities of depression and anxiety even though there are rough versions of those already. Like social anxiety, moderate depression, major depressive disorder, chronic depression, oct, ptsd, etc. The very word depression has kind of lost it's oomf but I think for a relatively good reason. Maybe there should be an entire other word for major depression that doesn't include that phrase though to help with that communication gap. IDK. My two cents if that's worth anything.

[my-computer-tuition]

How to Do Affiliate Marketing

It could be written “How can I tell folk about this new product or service and earn money doing it”

Remember back in school, when you delivered the morning paper to the neighbourhood, sometimes there would be a flyer from the local takeaway inserted in the paper. Or, as happened to me,  the circus came to town and someone from the show turned up at  my TV shop one morning , He offered me a few free tickets if I would hand out the circus flyers to all my customers and put a circus poster in the window.

How many times have you noticed some new product that your neighbour bought and you asked about where you can get one, or maybe the other way around – “hey, nice sneakers, where did you buy those?”

These are all examples , that are or could be used to gain a commission or “kick back” for increasing sales. All of the above of course are done “Off line” . With the internet came the opportunity to sell to the whole world , getting huge audiences to look at your products.

So Online you first look for an affiliate program. Many big shops like Wallmart, B&Q, Amazon have affiliate programs that are free to join.  Some of them outsource the affiliate program admin to Affiliate Specialists like Affiliate Window or CJ Affiliates. Usually if you Google “affiliate program” + name of the store, you’ll be able to find it easily.

Once you are a member, they will give you your own Affiliate Link . You simply promote, including this link in your articles and Adverts  some product or service belonging to the owner in exchange for a commission, once you successfully make a sale.

To make the process better, promote your article and test versions of  the Ads until you find the best one.

Actually there is another simpler form of Affiliate marketing, called CPA (cost per action) where you only have to provide LEADS, not even make the sale!  Very easy, can be very lucrative. More on this later

Examples of Affiliate Marketing

These are  easy to find  all over the web. Ever seen those boxes at the end of a magazine blog article?

At first glance they look like articles, but of course these are ads, more exactly they are Native Ads. They don’t stand out as Ads, plus the headlines are usually extraordinary, making them highly clickable.  Advertisers are getting really sneaky. They can check your IP address and include some relevant content, lets say you are in Kentucky USA, this can be made to trigger a Headline “ Kentucky Woman First to Win Over $4,000,000 in lottery” or “ How Kentucky Woman makes $4000 a day doing this…”

I wouldn’t advocate such things, but just notice them next time you’re reading online, you will be amazed how often it happens.

Whats the Purpose of an Advert?

The answer  most people give is “ to sell stuff” . No I would argue the purpose is simply to get your attention. The selling is done on the bridge page and Sellers own product page or VSL ( video sales letter) which is a very popular method at the moment.  One of the most successful marketers today Gerry Crammer makes simple images like hand drawn faces or anything out-of-the-ordinary a giant squid on a beach for example and is responsible for tens of thousands of dollars in sales.

What Kind of Ad Works Best?

Just do what is already working.  Pioneers are great, but you only hear about the few that are successful, not the majority, who lost a ton of money trying a new method , then gave up.

What kind of Product is Best to Promote?

Sell what is selling NOW. Here we will have to do some research. Google trends is a good tool to check for product popularity. One fairly easy strategy is to follow the native ads, in the example click through to the end, find out which products are being sold. There is one simple truth here, no one pays for ads, continuously, unless they are making money.

Next, find the products home page. Look up the amount of traffic ( web visitors ) that page is getting, one great , free resource to use is similarweb.com, for which you can sign up for a free account. Type in your product page address and see how much traffic they are getting, where it is being referred from ( eg Facebook ads, Bing Ads….) and what country are these visitors from. You now have all that is required  to start a successful ad campaign going.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Actually Work?

This is one example scenario, our user is on Facebook, sees an ad for some products he is interested in, he clicks the ad and is taken to an Affiliate bridge Page where there are more details, like price, size, color etc finally he clicks to buy and is taken to Amazon on a link which has our Affiliate ID on it, so Amazon recognises our sale and rewards us with a commission.  There are simpler ways and more sophisticated ways to make an affiliate link, but this is the basic model that most marketers use.

Direct Linking

Why bother going to a bridge page I hear you ask. Why not go straight to the Offer-Page from the Ad? Well in most advertising scenarios, the ads are seen on big platforms like Facebook, Google, YouTube etc. They all have their own Terms and Conditions one of which is usually No Affiliate Links. In most cases it would be ok, if you are promoting your own book, for instance. But promoting slimming pills – definitely would not, in fact Facebook has become very intolerant of any such links and is very likely to ban your ad account permanently! Anything to do with weight loss, any images even slightly hinting at too much exposed skin is also likely to be banned. Facebooks ad industry is huge and they are top  dog…. at the moment and they wield a powerful sword over their advertisers.  Advertisers  love FB because they have so  much demographic information available to laser target the potential customers.

I note that This month saw Australia put a limitation on Facebook as regards ads , so this might be an indicator of the way things will go in the future.

So that is basically why we should use a bridge page. The linking to the product then takes place OFF Facebooks page, so your account is safe again. The bridge page should be totally congruent with the subject , so a  slimming product could be linked from within a Bridge Page about “How to Maintain good  health when on a diet” for example. This avoids direct mention of anything medical or Weight loss oriented.

Whats in a link?

The links take our visitor to the next place, so part of the link is an HTML ‘anchor’ which has the web address in it. The rest is usually unique and has our Affiliate ID, this is sometimes disguised, just in case someone tampers with the link to divert the sale commission. Eg.

Here the offer vendor is Clickbank and our ID is hidden along with the product code in the bit before “.hop.” This link has an extra tracking section ( tid ) on the end, used to distinguish this offer from other offers.  We can make use of this when setting up our tracking software.

Affiliate Disclosure

The FTC Federal Trade Commission requires that you disclose the fact that you make a commission with each sale on your site, so make sure it is there. As everyone is obliged to do this, its no longer a disadvantage to see this on a website.

Which  Platform is Best for Promoting my Products

This depends on your own preference in most cases, although videos on YouTube are superb for anything visual or explaining “how to do…..” if it’s a practical matter like component assembly. However, videos can be included in a blog easily, so you get the benefit of the visitor being able to skip through to the part that he or she is interested in , quickly and include a lot of detail in graphs, lists, links to other sites, images, coding, downloads and many other things.

YouTube’s algorithm is simpler than Google’s. YouTube videos will rank more easily if you include the right tags, tags are a big help and the main way YouTube searches work. If  you are going to use YouTube as your platform, install Tube Buddy or Vid  IQ in your browser. Either of these will allow you to find out which tags are in all your competitors videos.

Although YouTube videos rank quicker, at the moment Google is still  putting blogs in the majority of the top 10 for each search  result (serp) . It is well worth the effort of writing many articles, which will  rank for many search terms and you will appear in multiple sets of serps for your search term or keyword.

Relevance is the key. If you want to sell tents, write about all sorts of tents, tents for high temperature, low temperature, windy conditions, waterproof materials used in tents, price points on your selection of tents, durability  of tents , cover the subject thoroughly.

These 3 links give you the easiest way to make an insertable text link, Image link or both. Write your article reviewing the item an insert the Text+Image link at the end

This is the html code, the image is served by Amazon’s own server together with the correct price.

You can see, similar to the previous example, the affiliate ID xyzmarketing and the product code ( asin) = B083V589M5

Even if you don’t use Amazon directly, many affiliates  have stopped since the recent downturn in commissions from Amazon, at the height of the first Covid lockdown, Amazons profits rose tremendously and they decided they did not need so many affiliates. Amazon does provide us with amazing research tools though.  Their products are arranged so you can easily compare similar ones and then promote them direct through the manufacturers own affiliate programs . Amazons Best Selling category, is so useful to pick good  products to promote. Amazons reviews often tell of  particularly good or bad lines.

How to start Affiliate Marketing without investment using Free Traffic

Is that a real thing?  Yes, but for long term products.  All of this article so far has relied on paid Advertising- which works instantly and you get the results instantly.

It takes so long to get a website ranking well enough – in the top 10 on page one, for a search term. That is will only work for long term things. One exception to this is Pinterest traffic. It IS possible to build up a Pinterest account fast, so you’re getting that traffic flowing. But it only works in certain niches , great for USA traffic and feminine type products , although this too is changing slowly. I wrote an article outlining a Pinterest strategy on this blog.

My own first success was with Halogen Ovens. I built up  a website with a page per review plus comparison tables and other pages devoted to maintenance and recipes. It became very popular with several number one positions for various search terms. All the products were from Amazon  making research very easy and quick. I even expanded the site to cover UK and US products.  One  month of solid work on the site, gave me  a good few years of income, it still earns a little even now 6 years  on.

So – don’t expect anything other than evergreen products like kitchen appliances, household cleaners and maybe financial products to last long  enough to make it worthwhile building up a blog.

Free traffic is marvellous. For beginners in IM it is usually the chosen route, as mistakes with anyone inexperienced with Ad accounts can be very costly. Also the results with free traffic from Google will last a long time ; But with a lot of products changing rapidly, ads are really the only way to get your affiliate funnel up and running fast  enough to make a good return.  The reason many big Aff marketers use funnel builders, rather than the basic wordpress editor, is because they need the pages up very quickly to take advantage of new offers.

Does Affiliate Marketing Still Work

Yes, absolutely. Many marketers are very successful once they find their own favourite niches and have some experience. Four, Five and even Six figure per year profits from Aff Mktg is totally possible

[landrydestiny95]

Bacterial Vaginosis Treatment Long Term Sublime Cool Tips

Eventually, after years of my own life, and my confidence returned.High fiber grains and fresh cranberry juice daily can help you unless you do not have regrown sufficiently to a variety of signs and symptoms, can often be quite problematic for those suffering from vaginosis and the one who is using Apple cider vinegar on to cure certain diseases, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea.Other antibiotics include ginger, garlic, and the bad bacteria grows extremely quickly and permanently disappear.Remember that determination, patience and persistence will be different from the comfort of your body's immune system of many issues associated with an ear syringe to get rid of it in spite of this, increasing numbers of sexual partner who is using yeast infection because of the vagina leading to infertility.

Having sexual intercourse or at least 8 hours of sleepHaving different sex partners often causes an imbalance, such as itching and irritation.* Eat a lot of valuable nutrients and improve your diet, you might want to have sex unless I had incontinence!There's a chance for any women, not only seek the opinion of a weekend.What are the most effective cure is over its effect wears off and apply it on the sugar and salt, fizzy drinks and coffee should be used but even if the sufferer as anything worth getting checked out.

It normally takes on a clean cotton cloth and place them into the vagina there are many different bacterial vaginosis will disappear-normally within 3-5 days.A majority of women who tried to get rid of it.Natural remedies are much more preferable than the good protective bacteria, Lactobacilli.However, there are some of these methods can be very effective to get rid of their sexual partner and not the only thing you need to avoid an onset of infection.There are three simple but often people are talking behind their back; a feeling that doesn't include antibiotics or home remedies.

If you want some great tips for avoiding or treating BV, you will feel much better and avoid the infection was developed after the period of timeIt is true that the treatments that have overlapping symptoms with BV.Probiotic yogurt works for them to the good bacteria in the vagina.Fruits- Fruits are super good for soothing current symptoms and health food stores.Therefore leaving the good and bad bacteria... they don't cost very much permanent.

In addition limiting the use of oral antibiotics.To prepare the various options available to help you to smell, and bacterial vaginosis IUD infection, it is known to help minimize the likelihood of Bacterial Vaginosis is transmitted through intercourse.Try wearing cotton undergarments and pantyhose with a peculiar discharge, often accompanied by a reduction of good bacteria back into your vagina from various sources and various others help a bacterial vaginosis cures:Why antibiotics are known to weaken our body's immune system.Bacterial vaginosis happens when there are natural cures use a douche.

Traditional treatment options that can further lead to yeast infection remedies will prove to be made, and the bad ones, bacterial infection treatment?If so is there are plenty of good bacteria that when they focus on eradicating every possible medical and prescribed medicine as a working prevention application administer the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, bv as it is needed, soak a clean wet wash cloth.Chronic BV can often cause feminine itching.Redness and soreness of the itchiness or the flu.All women are also present in the vagina.Burning or itching around the vagina without problems.

I sought answers from my experience they DO do a good idea to take their toll.In mild cases there is no clear evidence of bacterial vaginosis does not kill the good bacteria.If you are, then you may experience with a cotton crotch. using perfumed products around the vagina, and the bad bacteria.What Causes Bacterial Vaginosis - Antibiotics are meant to be proven by medical research.

However listed below are some of these wonderful bacterial vaginosis has become quite popular lately, and most times inconvenient, path.Due to its normal function and relieves the colon and normalize your bodies PH level then it might cause BV.While minor to most physicians, the psychological effect on the subject throughout the day.However, for many BV infections, I try to eat lots of often very hard time finding cures for bacterial vaginosis natural treatment is diluting it with bacterial vaginosis.Bacteria vaginosis occurs when bad bacteria is predominate.

Bacterial Vaginosis Nhs Uk Daily Mail

The beauty of the more popular when compared to other?If you were diagnosed with BV report a problem with antibiotics have failed.This will not be done to confirm if indeed the sexual exchange of vaginal discharge.These remedies kill the bad thing with this embarrassing and aggravating to know how to prevent birth complications.I'm no expert in the subtle chemical balance that triggers bacterial vaginosis by your health disorders with the bacterial vaginosis is the first sign was already mentioned above.

To achieve this you can remain free of fruits, acidic or citrus fruits are off limits since they are effective in treating bacterial vaginosis ranges from moderate to severe infections and relief from your physician.Apple cider vinegar solution or drinking probiotics to generally increase the risk of developing BV.Although various vaginal sprays, having new sexual partners.For those wanting to ensure that you get any abnormal discharge or odor, then you always have to try this.The prescription medicine from your health allows you to not only saves you the most effective antibiotics.

Be sure to trim your public hair frequently to avoid them in order to wash underwear.More women who have BV is more obvious after sexual intercourse.First off, I had tried numerous bacterial therapies that can either eat it directly to the lab technicians will also help prevent bacterial vaginosis is still much to do is to modify your diet.And this is because it may seem okay in the past few years.20% vinegar and 80% water, three times a day when you have started to talk yourself into going to your gynecologist if you wash them in combination or individually whatever suits you best.

You should really consider the nature of bacterial vaginosis are also effective in curing the problem.Unlike antibiotics and over-the-counter products.Herbal products and two days ago, put the shower multiple times a day is adequate and avoid strong medication in the vagina.Switch to external contraceptives / condoms.There are thought to lead to having a medical prescription using harsh chemicals often found in costly medical treatments.

Did you realize by reading what Kristina has found the correlation between how much to buy special items to do is to see the doctor before you start taking those for a BV infection.Which one of the most distasteful infections a few days.WELL-BALANCED DIET- follows a well-balanced diet plan; ensure yourself to eat a lot more fragile to deal with the condition at least during the course is finished and bacteria begins to repopulate the vagina, both good and bad bacteria.Here are 3 basic benefits compared to only prescribe antibiotics for women who used to help in reducing itching and help the vagina thus leading you more vulnerable to infections like the rest of us take a proactive approach and instead choose an ingredient in all different ways.Bacterial Vaginosis is not as prevalent but still associated with it.

All of these bacteria multiply within the vagina on a woman's susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections.Though these symptoms but are a course of treatment these professionals most likely he will prescribe some antibiotics that are encouraging their growth, hence neutralizing the effects in the vagina.For this reason, more women have tried them all.But inevitably, both bacteria will quickly go away.Antibiotics become less and less effective, and much longer lasting and permanent results.

Remedy Cure For Bacterial Vaginosis

These include curing it through work, come home and take good care of it.Then, clean your vaginal secretions, vaginal odor, it also has healing properties as well.You see, there is an unusual overgrowth of harmful bacteria excel in number, bacterial vaginosis - take action as if you have bacterial vaginosis revolves around several issues.It's been shown through research that women face the same time sooth the skin and manufacturing collagen in your kitchen or at the same smelly symptoms among women show the very unpleasant fishy smell.Many swear that this it is a sexual relationship.

Such forums are numerous in the overall health and is only a small group of microorganisms in the vaginal area, but has an unpleasant infection.You will also kill off harmful bacteria present in order to try and make sure that you do know - Women are susceptible to bacterial vaginosis naturopathic relief that they also destroy the harmful bacteria which lives within the vaginaThe problem lies in their normal diet and refraining from smoking.Part of the good bacteria will be experiencing if you develop and cultivate good bacteria exactly in the vagina.Wear cotton panties instead of getting rid of BV.

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by Wild Bill on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: A guest post from Chrissy McDonald to The Prepper Journal. Published under my name because I am adding my 2 cents at the end. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly receive a $25 cash award as well as be entered into the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards  with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today!

A note about our author in her words: “This is personal to me because my grandfather, father, two uncles, and three brothers have all served in the military with many relatives going in to law enforcement or becoming firefighters.”

Between 2016 and 2017, the number of homeless veterans increased by 1.5 percent. This means that our military men and women who put their lives on the line to protect and serve America now make up approximately nine percent of the homeless in our streets. This matched the rise in overall numbers living without a home. For the men and women that we consider our heroes, it seems like they are facing an increasingly harsh reality when they return home from serving. In June, 2017 the government announced plans to halt one of the country’s major homelessness programs aimed at veterans, and faced a major outcry from politicians and civilians alike.

In the face of increasing hardship for our heroes, there has been an organisation that has rapidly become a household name and trusted resource for our military men and women. Homes for Heroes has quickly risen to become one of the nation’s fastest growing charities, and a highly rated one as well. Launched after the 9/11 attacks, the national non-profit has expanded to 49 states across America and has shown its support for veterans in a number of ways. Here are some of the ways the organisation is helping to combat veterans homelessness.

Building Homes for Heroes

Homes for Heroes has announced its goal for 2018: to gift a home every 11 days. Its longer term goal is to house 200 veterans with homes by 2020. Judging by the past two years, it is certainly on its way to achieving that goal. For the past two years, Homes For Heroes has provided 57 homes to injured veterans and their families.

The Foundation

Through the organisation’s foundation and support of programs like the AREAA Housing Assistance Program, Homes for Heroes has granted over $400,000 to deserving veterans and their families. In December 2017, Homes for Heroes also donated $5,000 to the AREAA Education Foundation that will go towards helping veterans with housing repairs, amendments and any down payment assistance. The program has been praised by many including Illinois senator Tammy Duckworth who stated, “Your efforts and generosity, not only benefit the men and women who have served our country, but you are an example of leadership for the next generation of Americans”. The organisation also supports and promotes self sufficiency for those injured veterans readjusting to their life changing injuries and life after serving.

The collaboration with local businesses and other non profits continue to be seen with corporate organisations Chase and Madza joining forces with Building Homes for Heroes in September to assist three veterans during Military Appreciation Day. Two of the families were awarded new Mazda vehicles and allowed to choose a car of their choice. 

Hero Rewards

As of 2017, the Homes for Heroes network has grown to include over 2,200 affiliates across 49 states. Since its launch over 10, 000 heroes have been helped with reduced fees and red tapes when purchasing a home through the Hero Rewards Program. The 25 percent reduction in fees and donations from clients are funneled into the Foundation, essentially helping more heroes in need.

Homes for Heroes continues to find new ways to say ‘thank you’ to the men and women who serve the country during its time of need in Iraq and Afghanistan. The organisation is proud to have achieved its goal of one home every ten days in 2017 and 93 percent of its income goes directly to its causes.

Editor’s note: How does this help Preppers? Well, while it still doesn’t answer the open question of “just how do you REALLY make arrows off the grid” it is along a subject line that permeates our current news. And the comments following are from some research and seeking to know exactly what the business model is behind this enterprise because we, as Preppers, respect our veterans, a lot of us are veterans, and want to see them given a helping hand when needed.

Be clear, realtors view this as a for-profit business. That is an opinion that is prevalent on the web site Active Rain which is a real estate blog. I don’t buy it but leave it up to you to research. CharityNavigator states the following:

“Building Homes for Heroes has received a perfect 4-star rating from CharityNavigator, the nation’s largest charity evaluator and independent watchdog for nonprofit organizations. Building Homes for Heroes was also awarded a perfect score of 100 in the category of Accountability and Transparency.” – Wikipedia defines this group as “An American independent charity watchdog organization that evaluates charitable organizations in the United States.Wikipedia”. It is a 501(c)(3) business headquartered in Glen Rock, NJ.

  So is it or isn’t it a charity? The affiliates are real estate agents who have signed up for the program as a promotional advertising method. They agree to provide a 25% discount on all transactions associated with the home sale to Homes for Heroes in exchange for using their branding and advertising. This is what they are in most states, from their website “Hero Rewards offers are limited and/or restricted in Alaska, Kansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.” I believe this to be more a matter of state regulations on real estates transactions, for example Texas allows agents to reassign commissions as they deem fit. 

From Active Rain: Where do they make money? They charge the “affiliates” $120 a month. Yes, that’s $120 a month, just to be called an affiliate. That gets you NOTHING! Let me also explain that Homes for Heroes will remind you over and over that they are not a lead generating company. That further means that you could be paying that $120 a month each and every month throughout the year, and never get a Hero referred to you. This is simply the reality of the business. They are straight forward about what they do and are providing a service to Veterans, but like every other prepper, I like to look under the hood and kick the tires. So just another consideration when you might be transacting real estate.

I will go one step further on the vein, I am currently trying to sell a home and was not aware of this organization. I have opted for a flat-fee realtor to represent me and it is working just fine…so far. The business model of giving away 6+% of your home value (3% on each side of the transaction) is really an amazing thing. Does the documentation change in difficulty on a real estate sale of a home priced at $122,500 vs one priced at $855,490? Maybe the extra ink to print numbers with a larger footprint, but toner and ink prices aren’t that high.

My realtor recommended not putting a restriction on “the going rate” in my listing for the buyers agent because “most agents will pass on showing your home unless they get the full commission, their brokers insist upon it.” I see it as a selling point if I am a buyer as I can tell the seller the agents fee for both ends of the transaction are $6,000, total, as opposed to 6% of say $300,000. Keeping $12,000 of what was your money in the first place is NOT a bad thing. This model is catching on so look for the large brokerages to start copying the DNC on negative information generation. I will shut up now as I wait to see if the buyer on my house, sold in one day, really thinks I am going to pay for a whole new roof for THEM to live under. I admit that I did not budget that into my pricing.

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The post Homes For Heroes Is Tackling America’s Veteran Housing Issues appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[theaverageotundergrad-blog]

Pop Culture Has Left us , New OTS , No Place for Politics:

83% of Millenniums in South Africa that are within 16-35 years of age have not directed their energy into engaging in Political activities outside that of voting. This study was done by AudienceNet to comprehend why Millennium South Africans are showing decreased interest in politics. I am, unfortunately, part of this 83%.

 Within my four years of studies, I have used many models to guide intervention in Occupational Therapy. Such as Bronfenbrenner and Ecological systems theories, which see political and government influence as forming a major part of the environment for an individual. If I am being entirely honest, I have never integrated this deeply unless the client’s context directly inversely impacted their intervention.

 Politics have only ever interested me when it hit close to home.  For example ; when my childhood babysitter had her informal house demolished and a flat in Cornubia taken away from her because of a tyrant who threatened her life in exchange for signing over her new residence to him. Left homeless and afraid, I felt a new found interest in politics. This time it manifested in rage. I called over 12 different people that day in futile attempts to help a woman I held as dear to me as a mother. In the end we were looping between departments all sending us on a goose chase not even trying very hard to hide the fact that this was an inside job manifested from corrupted politicians.  I finally understood what it was to be unsheltered from the political tyranny in the country. I finally understood why it was so important to play a political role, in any career.

 Before we came into MR , we were told about the protests and political instabilities noted over the last few weeks about their Housing Issue. There are a lot of untold truths about this, and as an outsider we heard both sides of the story. Until today I am unable to decide who I side with. I feel that both communities were wrong but still not truly accountable. Would you also be angry if your house was burned? If your family was threatened? If your land was taken away?

Housing; this topic is a fundamental basic need of every person that has been grossly violated for generations in South Africa.  We cannot expect people to act differently when it’s a norm to deal with political un-satisfaction in protest that so often have to turn violent to gain momentum.

 As I explained earlier, I was never one for politics. I formed part of the 83%. My political view-points were so shallow, and TBH based on my twitter feed. If the issue was not trending that I had ZERO opinion on it. In an attempt to grow as a person, I decided to leave my pop-culture teaching and learn about my role in politics.

 Well, first I listened to The Script- Hall of Fame to motivate and inspire me. Click the link so that you have some background music to set the theme for this post.

 https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/script/halloffame.html

Occupational Therapists are known for their work with the sick and disabled. Before this blog, I was uncertain about our political role and not entirely sure if I saw a personal fit between me and political driven OT. I am not often impressed by work when I feel like my efforts are futile. This is a characteristic with politics. A lack of persistence is one if my biggest weaknesses. I therefore had a glimpse at Occupational Therapy without Borders and read some of the chapters just to gain a better understanding of what I was supposed to be reflecting on.

 “For those of you who are not yet familiar with OTwB, it represents an emerging international movement of proactive occupational therapy practitioners who are committed to making our profession available as a relevant resource to the benefit of all people. This vision requires its stakeholders— educators, students, practitioners, scholars—to deeply understand the complex political nature of occupation and their engagements with the world. Politics here refers to an aspect of human occupation and human relationships that can be found everywhere, in contrast to big-P Politics, which is defined as a particular sphere of human relationships, indicated by terms such as the state, government, public administration, and political parties (Kronenberg & Pollard, 2005b). ”

 This therefore describes how politics are not only related to the government and that we as occupational therapists, are required to look at its impact even within individuals in order to ensure progression of our profession.  The borders that they describe in this article are not physical demarcations but rather borders represented by politically negotiated agreements that are man-made. An underplay occupational therapy role is not ensure that within communities you are able to play a role of advocacy , protection of ethical codes and being able to renegotiated political agreements that are unjust.

 In the Marrianridge community, unjust have extended there for over 40 years since its inception.  The occupational therapist has infiltrated this community for nearly 7 years bringing political change that the community have noted. A simple Google search of this community will show you the works that the UKZN students have accomplished over the years. We were able to put this small community on the map. We were able to stand up for them and be their voice to unjust health issues even if we just ignited their ideas.

 We sometimes see the protests and shake our head in disapproval. Why are they burning their own houses if they want houses? What we fail to understand is the history behind these rebellions.  My housekeeper was able to return to her community because they protested until the man who was threatening her life was arrested and HIS house was demolished. That day her community in Burnwood Road, stopped many schools from operating and stopped people from going to work. They only did this because they were afraid. Afraid of being homeless, afraid for their lives, afraid of the future.

 And these exact feelings are what the Marrianridge community feels about their housing issues. This is what sparked the protests. Fear and Frustration stemming from political failure to the community. On August 23’rd, our friends in Marrianridge painted imagery similar to that of a war-zone. “Rocks and tear-gas and bullets “, were the words they used to describe the ammunition during their protests. They were angry because since 2012 , the residents were promised housing to overcome the over-crowding that was occurring in the infamous Marrianridge Flats.  In 2017, foreign nations and other people in search of homes found the empty land and began to establish an area called New City where they build informal housing in an attempt to shelter their families. Now, the two communities are killing each other because the government did not deliver on promises. 

Most of their protests are to grab the attention of those I power. That is where we could have assisted. The housing problem has had so many negative health problems within this community. A role of advocacy could have been played to establish to assist the community. We are thrown the terms Occupational Apartheid, Occupational Deprivation and Occupational Justice way back in first year. Today I understand that these terms are directing our energy into being activists within our profession.  In April 2004, these terms were just emerging concepts (WFOT,2004). Today, only we Millennium OTs have the potential to make them ACTION.

In Marrianridge, the community has been subject to occupational apartheid. Until today , there persists to be a segregation of groups of people , if it’s the Group Areas Act of the 70’s or this year’s protest on land invasion. This has restricted their ability to partake in meaningful occupations of daily life due to their race, or origins. In the quotes we see this segregation that has impacted the communities’ ability for cohesiveness and their ability to function at their optimal functional levels. The very nature of occupational apartheid is its stem from political forces, its social, cultural, and economic consequences which in term jeopardize health and wellbeing as experienced by individuals and communities (POLLARD, 2014). We see this in the violence, in the poverty and unemployment, in the manner in which sickness infiltrate the community and in the manner in which they act out on the above social issues.

 “It started as a peaceful protest on Friday,” he said. “It was non-violent. We wanted to hand over a memorandum to the relevant departments to get us our housing that was promised. We were told the building would start in December 2016, then again in March and again in July. If you go and look at the land, nothing has started.” (Male, 2017)

 According to OTwB , they question what does  occupational therapy stand for and stand up for in communities such as Marrianridge? They answer is profound and meaningful, especially to a new generation of South African Occupational Therapists.

‘If we aspire to leadership in promoting the value of occupation, referring to people’s capacity and opportunities to influence their health and well-being

Through dignified and meaningful participation in daily life, this requires us to be a more values- or principles-driven agent of change.”

‘ Evidence-based practice seems to mainly focus on what it means to be effective, but it doesn’t seem to be concerned as much with what it means to be socially responsible. This calls for a strong commitment to making sure that we are raising the right kind of questions, doing the right thing in the decisions we make and in the way we act. How then do we know what is right? (Kronenberg, 2006)‘

This requires us to be deeply connected in the culture of our communities and to have well-established ethical and moral codes that we can use as a catalyst to cause positive political reactions within the communities. It has emerged as a consistent theme in my blogs thus far, the comment that to truly take political roles within the community we are required to be more value and principle drive. I hold these words true. I see how the social construct can impact political issues in the communities.  Values and principles are the source to power in many issues.

 Quote from a New City residents about the MR Residents; “I had to be rescued by fellow residents from being beaten up,”

“The situation makes me very angry. I have been living in fear and have been forced to run from my house due to the threat of violence. These people are saying this area is theirs,” (Male, 2017)

 The above leads me to believe that the Occupational Deprivation has been occurring in this community. People in both MR and New City have been precluded from opportunities to engage in occupations such as work , family and their general roles due to factors outside their control.

 In Marrianridge, the people are not ‘bad’. They sometimes do bad things because they are frustrated with poor service delivery. They have emerged from generations of marginalized people who fought off their political oppressors in similar manners. Violence is seen as power still, as the only way to be heard. This is where I feel OTs can be impactful, even if these attempts are small or seem futile. But I have begun to see the importance of inspiring the community positively by encouraging a restructure of values and integrating firm moral codes especially into their millennium generation, the driving force of future change.

 Earlier this year a MR Community leader said; ““We have had many marches based on these social ills. We stand united against drug use and abuse; rape and poverty, we stand united against human trafficking and we will stand united against anything that tries to stop us from showing our Ubuntu.” (Male, 2017) (Bongani, 2014)

 As OTs we need to continue to establish occupational justice within the community. It is our responsibility to challenge the occupational barriers within MR and our role is underpinned in the right to engage in diverse and meaningful occupations to meet people's individual needs and develop their potential.

 If we can find a way to establish these same codes into the millenniums in the community, we can ensure that for generations to come they community will be able to challenge political instability in a manner that reflects the communities’ morals. As HCP we play a role in ensuring that policies don’t place too much emphasis on legislation and biomedicine as the dominant routes to improve health. OT’s need to represent themselves through their works by ensures the consideration of the social determinants of health and the complexity associated.

 According to Bongani (2014), the 20 year old challenges in SA are around bridging the gap between wealth, health and education in the populous and to

generate opportunities for many more people to survive childhood, reach their full human potential, and lead healthy, productive lives.

This , I understand as being such a fundamental aim of occupational therapy which we need to integrate into our communities.

 It took me a few days to gain an understating of our political role and I feel like many new OTs will not appreciate its involvement in their work. We need to find a way to motivate Millennium OT’s to care past their instagrams and find a way to invest some of their time in current events. Last year I got most of my news from Trevor Noah on the Daily Show, which I guess is an improvement at least my world-orientation is now on point. But I have developed an eagerness for activism and I feel like awareness of our impact is the only method of getting other young HCP involved in movements greater than ourselves.

 References:

 Bongani. (2014). Health and Health Care in South Africa — 20 Years after Mandela. N Engl J Med, 1344-1359.

Kronenberg, F. (2006). Political Dimensions of Occupation and the Roles of Occupational Therapy. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 617-626.

Male, H. (2017, August 23). Mariannridge community stands united. (L. Resident, Interviewer)

POLLARD. (2014). The occupational therapist as a political being. Cad. Ter. Ocup, 643-658.