“Stress” seems to be the most frequent word used when talking about daily life. People always try to find the best way to manage or to overcome it. For this time, would you try to increase your emotional intelligence? You will have a low stress level if you have a high emotional intelligence level. That will help you identify your feelings, those of others and finally to react accordingly. Here are three tips that may help you increase your emotional intelligence and reduce stress at work and at home. These beneficial tips have been recommended by Dr Russell Clayton, who is an instructor in the Muma College of Business of the University of South Florida and the author of Balancing Life: Seven Strategies That Can Help You Achieve Work-Life Balance.

 Think, first, about emotional literacy that consists in putting feelings and emotions in the right place. Know the right way to use your feeling in a specific situation. Act well when you have to; and even if people are behaving badly to you, try to show them a positive attitude at all time and you will not be stressed.

 Then, consider how you could develop your empathy in order to increase your emotional intelligence. Recognize and understand how others feel. Take time to listen to others without interrupting them. Let them express their feelings freely and you just wait patiently. That will relieve your stress; and from this way, people surrounding you will believe they are treated with fairness and respect.

 Take emotional control into consideration. In case of a struggle that may cause stress to you, always take control of your emotion. Take a deep breath and think twice before acting. Think about what will happen if you lose the control of your emotion. Ask those questions to yourself: “Will that bring a good outcome to me?” –“Will that reduce my stress or toughen it?” –“Will my behavior be profitable or profitless?” Also take a break for you to be like reset from the situation that stressed you. Think of doing something that will not remind you of your problems and struggles. Take action on a situation in which you have control.

Above all, do not forget that for you to manage your stress, you will have to take time to practice those tips. Develop your emotional intelligence and you will see that you will become less stressed at work and at home. You are capable of understanding that if you are less stressed, you will get more success in your daily life. The more you increase your emotional intelligence, the less you will be stressed and irritated. So, choose today to take in charge of your life by applying these three useful tips from Dr Russell Clayton.

Source : Psychology Today

Taking a salaried job is still the most common way to earn money and survive in life. However, there are other options. Let’s consider freelancing.

When talking about a freelance job, people often relate to it as when you work in a short-term contract basis for several different companies; yet it may generally refer to a job on which you can build your own empire by becoming your own boss. Indeed, working as a freelancer may help you to be more prolific in life as it provides many advantages. As a self-employed person, you have more freedom to set a plan for a more dedicated job, in any area of work which certainly meets more your expectations and needs, and most importantly you feel passionate about. At the same time, you can choose any work that matches you the most or that you find to be in conjunction with your personality and personal values. Your flexibility and freedom in time and choice allow you to become what you wish for according to your predilection fields, experiences, and skills. You can become a freelance writer, a freelance photograph, a freelance designer, and suchlike.

Nevertheless, freelancing is not for everyone. There are a few misconceptions about it. Most think that freelancing is an easy job that only consists in being self-employed workers who do not need to follow any restrictions nor any commands from anyone. They think that they can do whatever they want without any challenges and continuously get paid. In other words, they assume that they could do it with their eyes shut. Unfortunately it is far from being an easy work, contrary to common beliefs. Freelancing can be a very tough work for beginners. These are some proven hard realities about being a freelancer that people need to know before deciding to take on this path:

1. The dream is not what it seems. As a freelancer, you need to work hard so as to achieve your goals and fulfill your dreams because it will not always be “la vie en rose”. You have to work your fingers to the bone.

2. Underselling oneself is all too easy. Sometimes freelancers face situations that lead them to undersell their talents and capabilities. They may deal with clients who are too demanding in terms of work pay, leading freelance beginners to undervalue their skills.

3. Defining one’s skillset is a big deal. As new freelancers start out, they may struggle with defining their skillset since they compete with many other freelancers who are also trying to show up in the freelance job circle.

4. Burnout is a real danger. A freelancer’s life can be stressful. At some point, freelancers may find themselves at their lowest and darkest times.

These are only a few of the challenges that freelancers must overcome when starting a career where competition is fierce. However, despite struggles and hardships, they just start, and it is up to them to choose to continue or to let it down. However, this does not necessarily mean that everyone will cope with these challenges to live a successful freelancing experience. That is the case of Samà David, a freelance translator in Antananarivo, who shares his experience of work with us. He has been working as a freelancer for two years now. He makes contracts with clients and works for them for a specific time. He keeps planning his work and sticks to the plan he has set. David reveals to have never found specific difficulties on being a freelance translator because he loves his job and always persists on doing the best to excel in it. Now, he plans to offer more services apart from translating.

 Sources: success.com/ bidsketch.com / Envato Tuts+

Like a house that has good foundations, students need self-discipline to be successful. Self-discipline is the act of disciplining one’s own feeling and behaviour in order to reach a certain goal in life. Self-discipline is not a skill that people acquires in birth but they got it as they trained themselves to it.

How does self-discipline generate academic success?

To succeed, students need to discipline themselves in some point of views. In fact, they have to change all the habits that maybe an obstacle to their success. For instance, students have to learn time management. They can draw a timetable for their studies and all the other extra activities they undertake. As a result, they can automatically know how much time they can spend to review their lessons, to read books and to practice everythingthey have learnt.

Students have to train and discipline themselves to hard work too. They have to change all the unsuccessful habits that led them to failure. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence, uttered: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” This quote can be used to draw students’ attention to train themselves to give their best to their studies. They do not just have to content with what the teachers and professors give them, they have to make a lot of research too.

Students have to discipline themselves to be courageous at all time. They have to make themselves do what they should do, and deal with their fears rather than avoid them. So, for them to succeed, they have to discipline themselves to be courageous and to go beyond their capacities. It is possible to make efforts to face with all the challenges that may come to them.

What benefits can they get from being self-disciplined?

Success will be guaranteed and goal will be reached for self-discipline students. Indeed, they will get more things done than before and even will get things done faster too. Self-discipline will help them acquire greater sense of self-control, self-reliance and personal power. Students will become more self-confident and proud of themselves and they will never have to fear failure and rejection anymore. They will be more persistent in overcoming obstacles until they reach academic success

 Source: Brian Tracy, “The Miracle of Self-discipline”

World Health Day is observed worldwide every 7th of April. Every year, World Health Day is associated with a special theme that tackles and solves a special issue related to global health. As an international observation highlighting global health awareness, it is a special day that is really worth knowing and celebrating. The theme for 2021 World Health Day is “Building a Fairer, Healthier World”.

It is no secret to all of us that Covid-19 has hit our world hard and drastically impacted our communities causing wide social and economic disparities. This has been the main reason why the World Health Organization chose this theme for this 2021 celebration. WHO noticed that the pandemic has increasingly made the world unequal in a way that there are people who continue to live healthier lives and have access to good quality health services while others struggle with poor living and health conditions, which are entirely due to the conditions in which they are born, grow, live and work. WHO thinks that this is unfair and that it must be seriously taken into consideration.

On this date, WHO is intended to organize a campaign that will highlight its constitutional principle that “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition”. For this purpose, WHO wants leaders from all over the world to take initiative in spreading this global health awareness day through working together, collecting reliable data, tackling inequities, acting beyond borders, acting on the social determinants of health equity and gender equity through monitoring and working on human rights. These are to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health and that all people are able to access quality health services when and where they need them. Indeed, WHO defines the word health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely an absence of disease”; hence it is committed to ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can realize the right to good health. On this April 7, the unfolding of the entire event is going to take place online. A live video will be broadcasted by World Health Organization South-East Asia Region – WHO SEARO – with a special focus on countries in the Western Pacific which have known a rapid economic growth, migration and urbanization; yet their peoples fail to get the same opportunities to better live healthily and decently, an inequity that is especially triggered by the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A brief historic on the inception of World Health Day
The 7th of April is also the anniversary of the World Health Organization founded in 1948. That year, the 1st world health assembly was held and decided to dedicate the 7th of April of each year as World Health Day. It was only in 1950 that it took effect worldwide, celebrated around a specific shared theme. The aim of WHO when creating this annual observance day is to raise awareness on a specific and meaningful health topic each year and to make this topic as a priority of concern throughout the world. If 2020 World Health Day was dedicated to the nurses and midwives who were at the forefront to cure people contracted by the coronavirus, this year, it will focus on the elimination of all kinds of inequity caused by this pandemic.

Source: World Health Organization (WHO)

Have you ever experienced strange phenomenon like when you raise your eyes to watch the clock and you notice the hour and the minutes reflect the same numbers or point to reversed hours? Furthermore, could that be a coincidence to repeatedly come across such similarity and synchronicity in time and number?

There are people who believe that their guardian angels want to communicate with them and that they try to send them divine messages, whereas for some these are only a cock-and-bull story. Somehow, whether it is true or not, such a phenomenon remains a mystery and as it is so, it needs to be unraveled and solved.

What are mirror and reversed hours trying to tell us?

By definition, a “Mirror hour” is an hour with double figures made up of numbers which match those of the minutes, 12:12 for instance. Instead, a “reversed hour” shows two numbers inverted, like in 12:21. Both mirror and reversed hours may be interpreted like a heavenly sign. When people see regularly similar or reversed numbers when looking at the time, it may be believed that there is a spiritual force like a God, an angel or a divinity who wants to convey a message to them. In this case, they feel like they need to pay close attention. As a matter of fact, it is sometimes associated with a sort of calling for a divine mission. Yet, be careful since it may be a kind of warning sign as well. At the same time, as it occurs at any time and unexpectedly, it can be tied to both numerology and astrology according to which it may be equally interpreted. Here are some examples of mirror and reversed hours with their respective meanings:

 12:12. If you see this double figure featuring the number 12 more than once, it may probably not be a coincidence because this mirror hour 12:12 is assumed to be loaded with great mystical symbol. It is linked to the sacred texts of the three main monotheistic religions: Jewish, Christian and Islam. In fact, this mirror has a strong connection with spirituality. As such, its significance with the Guardian Angels shows that you have a close link with the spiritual world through which you have acquired a certain insight or clairvoyance that enable you to enhance your divinatory arts. The guardian angel corresponding with 12:12 is Aniel. He symbolizes bravery and the divinity. In numerology, 12 plus 12 equal 24, a number that is considered a positive symbol. If you took on a project requiring rude efforts and you continue to perceive this mirror hour, that means your efforts are going to pay off soon and be hugely fruitful.

 12:21 is a reversed mirror hour that also has its own significance. Indeed, it holds a specific message to the person who comes across it more often. The message the guardian angel named Haamiah wants to convey is to warn the person of some bad people around him or her and to advise to avoid such toxic people. However, Haamiah also wants to ensure concerned people that he is always there to help them assert themselves and enjoy life. As far as the numerology is concerned, this reversed mirror which gives 33 in a total value has been found to have very powerful energies. It says that it is a number that instills courage, optimism and enthusiasm. Therefore, no matter what the person may undertake and despite what people may inflict on him/her, he/she is blessed, loved, and supported. He/she can always count on the valued support of his/her guardian angel.

These are only examples, but there are still many numbers – either mirror or reversed hours – that hold each specific messages. It is up to you to see if you want to believe or not and if you feel like wanting to check their meanings.

Source: mirrorhour.com

Located 90 km south of Toliara, Tsimanampetsotsa National park is a 432 sq.km reserve that lies on the south-west of Madagascar in the Atsimo Andrefana region.

The park gained its status as a protected site in 1927 thanks to its rich and unique biodiversity with remarkable endemic fauna and flora. Then, it became a national park in 1966. The site is so exceptional that it has been registered within the Ramsar site or as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 1998. Its landscape encompasses an important wetland known as the lake Tsimanampetsotsa that fits well with its xerophytic vegetation and its singular animal species. The Lake is a saline and quite shallow water located in the heart of the park and extended over an area of approximately 6,000 hectares. The water is highly mineralized and moderately alkaline with a ph value of around 8. It is also the only lake saturated with lime sulphate that now exists in Madagascar (ramsar.org).

Apart from the known salty lake that is part of the nature reserve, there are other zones that compose Tsimanampetsotsa National park which include Mahafaly plateau edge and Mahafaly plateau. The Mahafaly plateau edge is at the foot of Mahafaly plateau which is in the east of the lake basin and where an abundance of calcareous cliff with vegetation made up mostly of shrubs and caves with freshwater are present.

A rich biodiversity with a high rate of endemism

The park is home to many endemic endangered species. 72 species of birds are spotted, 40 species of reptiles and five species of lemur. The lake is home to two vulnerable species of birds: Charadrius thorasius (vulnerable) and Phoeniconiais minor (almost endangered). The Mahafaly plateau – the area of a large deposit of underground water and species – shelters the vulnerable bird Coua Verreauxi as well which is considered almost endangered by the Red Book of Birds.

The rare blind fish “Typhleotris madagascariensis” dwelling in the unenlightened cave of Tsimanampetsotsa is also visible in the area. Other animal species that can be explored in the site include the lemur species “maki catta” and the radiate turtles (Geochelone radiate).

As far as the flora is concerned, the park nestles numerous endemic plants. Indeed, the reserve of Tsimanampetsotsa has been estimated to have the highest level of plant endemism in Madagascar, with 95 percent endemic species. There are 185 species of plants from 65 families, including the Octopus tree from the member of Didieraceae family, the flowering plant species “Delonix regia” belonging to the Fabaceae family, and the majestic baobab from Malvaceae family which measures up to 10 meters long.

Activities available in the park

The park abounds in circuits that are accessible to visitors. Hiking, trekking, and cave diving are the most common activities that the park offers. You can try up to five circuits, which enable tourists to discover the breathtaking landscapes of Tsimanampetsotsa nature reserve along with its diverse exceptional wildlife species. These include: the Andaka circuit, the Andalamaike circuit, the Andranomaike circuit, the Emande circuit and the Tsiamaso circuit.

To reach the National park of Tsimanampetsotsa, take the NR10 heading to “Faux Cap” which passes directly by the park. No way to miss it! Indeed, it is both accessible by car and boat from Tulear and Anakao.

Sources: Madagascar National Parks / ONTM / Ramsar sites Information Service

The struggle of young people with the access to health services seem to be not finished yet, especially in terms of sexual and reproductive health. However, having access to such services are so vital in meeting youth’s needs regarding their sex life and their capability to reproduce. Further, having access to good and adequate health services that would prevent HIV or any sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and improve sexual and reproductive health remain a fundamental right for young people.

Around the world, millions of adolescents either boys or girls face barriers to maintain their sexual and reproductive health due to many factors such as the lack in the access to essential information and services as well as safe, effective and affordable contraception methods. In fact, these are mainly seen among girls who are increasingly at high risk of being coerced into unwanted sex or marriage resulting in early and unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, STIs, unsure childbirth and stillbirth. Adolescent boys are apparently at risk as well – both young boys and girls are vulnerable to STIs including HIV and appear to be disproportionately affected by HIV (UNFPA).

Understanding the obstacles preventing young people from getting access to good healthcare services so as to accurately solve them
These inadequacies in the access to health services among young people are mostly present in developing countries, where reproductive health problems are a leading cause to ill health and death for women and girls of childbearing age according to the UNFPA. A team of teacher-researchers and students from the University of Antananarivo conducted a study on sexual and reproductive health among young key populations in Southern Africa. The study consisted in assessing cases of African adolescents struggling with the access to healthcare services and the factors increasing this inaccessibility. For the case of Malagasy adolescents who have been surveyed, only 38 percent of both sexes have acknowledged that they already reached out to a healthcare provider to tackle issues on sexual and reproductive health. It is important to note that girls are slightly more numerous than their male counterparts. In fact, this low percentage is due to several factors which include the persistence of the taboo around sexuality. Affordability is one of the main obstacles for young adolescents upon the access to care services. Difficulty of access to contraception for minors is seen mostly in public health sectors, compelling youngsters to come with parents, and most importantly the failure of these public health sectors in providing good quality healthcare, which spurs young people to go to private health centers.

Nevertheless, despite such obstacles, issues on the access to sexual and reproductive health services for young people have been already addressed bymany international bodies. These entities strongly work on how they could help in supporting adolescents’ health and rights by delivering supportive health programs; such as the UNFPA who works with ministries, NGOs and other partners to advocate for and support the efficient delivery of a youth-friendly healthcare package of services which include universal access to accurate sexual and reproductive health information, a scope of safe and affordable contraceptive methods, special and quality care for all pregnant women and girls, counseling and the prevention andmanagement of STIs. Another organization which is also highly committed in promoting quality health services and products in more than 45 countries is PSI; and Madagascar is among these countries which have benefited from PSI’s healthcare programs. In fact, PSI Madagascar already works with the Malagasy government in the purpose to integrate innovative sexual and reproductive health programs into private networks and public facilities to reach rural and remote areas with mobile clinic services. At the same time, PSI Madagascar also focuses on prevention activities to reduce STI’s like HIV by expanding facility and community-based HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and care services available to all Malagasy young people dispersed in the 22 regions of Madagascar, mostly known as “key populations”.

Getting informed about the existence of these programs would be of great help for young people in improving their sexual and reproductive health and in being empowered by these ones.

Sources: UNFPA / PSI / Professor Jane Freedman, et al. « Santé sexuelle et reproductive chez les jeunes « populations clés » à Madagascar ».HEARD Madagascar research report 2020.

Choosing what degree program to take on as a freshman may feel like quite challenging at first. The choice is crucial: to pursue a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of science (BS) degree.

Freshmen students must decide which specific degree program to pursue and be conscious about the real benefits of enrolling in a program. In fact, a bachelor’s degree opens doors to a wide variety of career options that will enable the students to increase their earning capacity and job opportunities after graduating. At the same time, such an undergraduate degree is an important stage to step in if they need to get more specialized in a field that may broad knowledge and further their skills on that chosen field of education. In the USA for instance, there are over 5,000 colleges and universities which may offer the same program but with different degrees: BA in psychology or a BS in psychology for example.

There is not as much distinction in whether taking a program in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science, since both BA and BS degrees are both four-year degrees that require 120 credits for graduation. They mainly approach topics differently and offer quite different programs, depending on the school. In fact, colleges and universities each identify their own requirements and designations for the BA and BS degrees they offer. So, the degree designation depends on the college since some offer only BA degrees whereas others provide only BS designations. There are also other institutions which offer fields of study in both degrees with conjoining courses (collegechoice.net).

A Bachelor of Arts is designed mostly to prepare undergraduates with creativity, critical thinking skills, as well as with good communication skills. They are required to take a variety of liberal art subjects associated with humanities such as literature, history, language, communication, and social sciences. Even though a BA degree provides a variety of study fields and a diverse list of courses in a particular major – as it focuses on a broader and liberal arts curriculum – students enrolling in this degree program are in some ways free to choose a certain area of study that they feel interested in and on which they may desire to focus much more to mold their education and skills on the field. In contrast, a Bachelor of Science is more of a specialization in a particular field of study. Students who are interested in a specialization or a career in science are more likely to take a BS track. This natural predisposition and predilection for science allows learners to take focused classes so as to prepare them for their ideal jobs in scientific fields or in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

As a matter of fact, a BS degree generally encompasses technical and scientific majors such as engineering, technology, mathematics, computer science, nursing, and biochemistry. There are also some colleges which offer the BA and BS degrees in the same area of study such as in education, business administration, laws or political sciences and economics. However, it differs only in the curriculum which essentially depends on the degree designation. Students enrolling in a BS in economics may be found to take classes in science, mathematics, statistics, and data analysis; whereas those who are in a BA economics may be found dealing with English, literature, and history. This proves that no matter what degree program you decide to pursue, whether it is a BA or a BS – depending on your career goals – there is always a large scope of studies that may be associated to one another available to undergraduate students.

Sources: nu.edu (National Education) /studyusa.com

Born Jill Tracy Jacobs, Jill Biden, Joe Biden’s wife is the current first lady of the United States.

Compared to other first ladies in US history, Jill Biden is quite a different one since she chose to pursue her career at Northern Virginia Community College and keep a paying job while serving as first lady of America. Indeed, she decided to keep her day job just after moving into the White House. Primarily known as a college English teacher, Dr. B– as her students are used to calling her – dedicated her life to teaching and supporting her American citizen counterparts.

Dr Biden holds four degrees, including a Master in English from Villanova University and a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware. Since she met Joe Biden, she has not ever stopped studying and then working really hard while perfectly fulfilling her duties as mother, devoted spouse, and second lady during Obama’s presidential term. In fact, she has always been there present for her husband every single moment like the first time when Biden announced his bid for the presidency in 1987 but of which he then dropped out in 1988 until she urged him to run for the presidency again in 2007.

Toward serving as second lady between 2008 and 2017, Dr Biden worked alongside former first lady, Michelle Obama and has already been people-oriented as they together launched in 2011 the “Joining Forces” initiative. This has been essentially created to encourage members of the public and the private sector to find big and small ways to support service members, veterans, theirfamilies, and their caregivers; and the program focused generally on education, employment, and wellness (MilitaryTimes.com). Even after leaving the White House in 2017, she continued to work with military families and support military children through the Biden foundation. Just a few days before Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, Jill Biden as a military mother – her late son, Beau, had served in the Delaware Army National Guard – renewed her vow to pursue her undertaking on helping troops and their families, but most importantly military-connected children.
The current first lady has always been a very dedicated and committed woman. In fact, apart from being an educator, a military mother and grandmother, a second lady and currently serving as first lady, she is also well-known for being a best-selling author. Some of her writing works include: “Where the Lights Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself”, “Joey: The Story of Joe Biden”, and “Don’t’ Forget, God Bless Our Troops”.

Sources: Business Insider/ whitehouse.gov/ Military Times

Peace Corps celebrated its 60 years of service on the 1st of March, involving all the Peace Corps volunteers and community in commemorating the 60th anniversary which was under the theme “The Peace Corps through the Decades: Sixty years, Countless stories”.

This year, Peace Corps week ran from February 28 to March 6 with events that almost went virtual which included a leadership forum, a video showcase on the history of Peace Corps, a virtual talk, and a festival. Peace Corps week focuses mostly on commemorating President John F. Kennedy’s establishments of the agency as well as world peace and friendship, volunteerism and service. Since its founding, over these six decades, Peace Corps volunteers have already counted for more than 240,000 American people willing to serve in over 140 countries worldwide.

The story of the creation of Peace Corps
Peace Corps first started with John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 to 1963. He established it in 1961 in the form of agency aiming at granting an opportunity to American citizens to serve in developing countries so as to promote peace, friendship and volunteering services. It has even been said that the concept of creating such an agency for peacemakers and volunteers took place at an unexpected moment with an impromptu speech from President Kennedy.

The day after his campaign for presidency, Senator John F. Kennedy was just passing by the University of Michigan for a night but thousands of students from the University waited for him to deliver a speech. In fact, the future of the world’s prominent volunteer community lied in a challenge issued by President Kennedy. He challenged the crowd to contribute two years of their lives to help people from the developing world. This is an extract of his speech: “How many of you who are going to be doctors are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives travelling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whether a free society can compete. I think it can! And I think Americans are willing to contribute. But the effort must be far greater than we have ever made in the past”. One year following this speech, he signed an executive order establishing officially the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961. Peace Corps volunteers have now served in over 60 countries which include Madagascar. Peace Corps’ program for Madagascar debuted in 1993, and from that year until 2020 about 1,574 Peace Corps volunteers are estimated to have completed their service within different communities in the regions of Madagascar.

However, due to the pandemic COVID-19, for the first time in Peace Corps history, Peace Corps volunteers around the world have been evacuated from their posts resulting in the suspension of all volunteering activities and projects. Let’s just hope the situation will be getting better soon!

Sources: state.gov/ peacecorps.gov