 Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Stepping Up, I'm your host, Daniel Dubois. This week, we feature one success story of how a governmental agency was able to assist a privately owned company to scale up and start export, and later on, for LinkUp, we feature St. Lucia Truck Superstar, Julian Alfred. Export St. Lucia is a government's national trade export and promotion agency and is mandated to spearhead the island's national export developmental effort. My overall objective is to increase aggregate volume and value of exports and works to promote and expand business in export markets around the world. We sat down with Export St. Lucia's Public Relations Officer, Jason Darius, to help us know more about the agency and how local businesses can access their support systems to achieve export capacity and quality. Let's take a look at the interview. Tell us a little bit more about Export St. Lucia. Hey Daniel, thank you very much for having me. Well, Export St. Lucia, like you said, our mandate is really to help move exports, help businesses get to that export level and help give out the best of what St. Lucia has to offer in terms of product services and let the world in on what we have to offer as a country. So we work with small businesses, we work with manufacturers, agricultural producers. We work with anybody in the scope of business that has that mandate and that effort to export and really help push the business forward. And that is really our mandate here at Export St. Lucia. Nice. And what about the history? Let's talk about the history of Export St. Lucia. I know they did a rebranding recently. What is the history of Export St. Lucia? Well, Export St. Lucia, I guess in the early beginnings we started off as OPSR, the Office of Public Sector Relations. There was a small office in the Office of the Prime Minister that really dealt with private sector, really small businesses just helping to manage businesses and help them get what they need. And then, I guess, TIPA came about as a Trade Export Promotion Agency. We live the same mandate but with more focus on exports and really helping the business get that promotion that it needs to help St. Lucia products actually get out there, let the world know what it is that we have to offer. And then recently, we actually just had a name change, Export St. Lucia. So just the name change, nothing else has changed. Our mandate is still to increase exports and make sure that we put off the best of what St. Lucia has to offer out there to the world. And with your interaction with small businesses, how does Export St. Lucia intervene? So let's speak directly to the programs that you're offering and the support that you offer. So let's say I want to sell mangoes and I want to export mangoes or whatever, and I realize that the export is not only about physical goods, tangible goods, it's also about services because I know you guys touched on music recently in terms of how we can package our music. So let's talk to the program and how does Export St. Lucia really and truly intervene on behalf of small business owners? Okay, so you would imagine there's a chain, there's a couple of steps that you actually have to get to before you get to us, I guess, helping you out. At first, you would have to register your business to go through the chains such as Seidu to help get your business really on a good foundation, so to speak. So when you have that foundation set and everything is in place and you look to expand, look into get your product out there, that's when you come to us. And then we really help to guide you, give you that help in hand that you need to navigate those waters. For example, if you would want to get into the UK market by exporting mangoes, like you said, you would look at any restrictions there are, if any standards that need to be met, if there are any hurdles, challenges would help you overcome them and really help you get your best foot in that door, so not only are you likely to get in that door, you're likely to stay in there as well. And we were talking before and like you said, consistency is key. We really are just like a help in hand to really get you into the markets where you want to go in terms of your exports and that's what we are here to do, sorry. Right. So in your interaction with our business, let's just segue a little bit into how our businesses in St. Lucia are losing the opportunity to export. What is it that you see our small business owners not doing to be able to, I don't want to say exploit, but use the opportunities that they have available to be able to export. How can we, on a personal level, as a business owner yourself, what is it that you see that is lacking in our business community in St. Lucia? For me, what I think it is, it's that access to information and access to knowledge. People want to do things but they don't really have that knowledge or they don't know where to go or what to do. That's where we come in. We help with that process. We help find what it is that you need to actually get off the ground and run in. So this is why we are here and this is exactly what we do. But like you said, what's missing is really that knowledge, that information, dissemination aspect of it. And that's what we are working so hard to actually accomplish and just spreading information, making sure everybody has what they need. Everybody knows what they have to do in order to get things done. I know that Export St. Lucia recently won a few awards. Let's let us know a little bit more about that. And that's the thing again, we like to work with, we like working with St. Lucia. We like our people. We like knowing that we made a huge difference in people's lives, not only on an island level but only in communities, on the personal level, just hearing those stories. So our award that we won are the WTPO awards that happened last month. We won the award for Best Initiative for Inclusive and Sustainable Trade that was with our Pualesimos Farmers Association. Many of you know the amount of work that we've put in with the Pualesimos Farmers Association, getting them from really no Seamos being produced or limited Seamos being produced without anybody having any market for anything except for locally, and then getting them to the UK market, then that US market, and then having them stay in there and having continuous trade that happened between St. Lucia and the UK just for Seamos. Not everyone wants to grow Seamos. Everybody wants to grow the Seamos, you see? And it's very lucrative for them and having impacted those Seamos farmers from Puala, it really goes a long way in helping our future, brightening our future as a people in St. Lucia. So this is like really what we want to do, how we want to help our people, how we want to impact our people, and that is just one of the many stories that we have out there. And if that award, we got what, runner-up for that award after Procomete, that is one of the biggest TPO's in the world actually, and to get runner-up after them for that award, that means that we are doing something truly remarkable at the Expo St. Lucia. And it shows that there's a unique opportunity to develop these small cottage industries that is not just to serve local markets, but you can export your goods, people. Exactly. You just have to ensure that the proper standards and procedure are in place to actually meet those requirements for those territories and during business. Nice. So let's talk about some more success stories. Well, I know for sure about the Seamos farmers, they really hail the Expo St. Lucia, like the same way you're talking about them. So that synergy, that linkage there is solid. What are the success stories do you have to share with us? Well, just from this year alone, we have been doing a lot of stuff. You mean, sorry, I mean, you would imagine that with COVID, a lot of the stuff that we had in the pipeline would have to try to redirect efforts, try and look for alternative routes and in the inspiring words of our CEO in spite of what can happen in spite of this, what other routes can we take? So earlier this year, we actually had our biggest remissions to St. Vincent and Grenada. Right now, as a result of COVID-19, what we are doing is to just follow up on those, make sure our linkages are still strong in the regional territory as well as international markets as well. So we're just following up on these things. So testament to that would be recently, our 20 foot container of cleaning products from chemical going off to Dominica. That was last month, October. Another shipment from Abbey, a new exporter. Well, relatively new to Guadaloupe really. Sending off chips to Guadaloupe. And you have for a spring sending 4,000 plus cases of water over to St. Vincent. And these are just some of the successes that we had thus far in spite of COVID. So just imagine what we could have accomplished in spite of COVID. What we really could have accomplished. I mean, we continue to... Yeah, we're on a big thrust. Exactly. And we just had to try and maneuver those waters, see what can really happen. And we continue to promote and advocate for our businesses. We still take part in trade shows, whether it be virtually or with a limited presence. But we still advocate and really lobby for our clients, our businesses in St. Lucia. And that's what we really are about. So, how does supporting businesses with exporting, how does that benefit the country as a whole? Let's speak to that because we always talk about things like that, we'll find the economy and finding, boosting up our manufacturing and stuff like that. So this show is for anybody who has a business, anybody who has anything that they're thinking of scaling up, reach out to export St. Lucia because the long run is it benefits St. Lucia. So let's talk about how this echoes your national development and national economic growth mandate as well. Exactly. So take a look at St. Louis, for example. There was this cry for a really long time for us to diversify in terms of our agricultural offerings to the table. For a long time we'd have heard about bananas and everything banana exports are dying off. We need to diversify. So we started looking around, seeing what can be done and then we found this opportunity here. We saw the need for this to be taken up and we worked with the CMOS farmers seriously to get them to that level, to buy into what we see can happen with this product and lo and behold, look at it now. So this is just one way of bringing more of a success to our country. I want to take that back. Just, how do I say? This is just one way of helping our country be successful, helping us grow, helping just fostering growth for us. Because we realized, when we did the feature with the CMOS farmers, basically they did talk about how everything in the area just started to grow and that's what people don't recognize that once there's a demand, you now have to expand on the ground, you now have a little lady selling by prowl or you had the boxes and the packaging and all of these things along the line, everybody benefits. So I think when it comes to that aspect of it, once you secure that outside market, you're actually securing growth for yourself and your community and the country at large. Exactly. So we continue to work with the CMOS farmers and we continue to work with those smaller industries, like I mentioned earlier, just to help them see their potential and really meet that market standard and help them keep up with the demand as well because if you meet that standard, you get in the door and you cannot keep up with the demand that is something else. People lose confidence in you. So you have to sustain that demand and sustain that product commitment. Yeah, and that is really it for us. That's part of it. Intervene. That's nice. That's to intervene and just help bring up the best of what you can be. Yeah. Moving forward, I know before we start talking, you gave me a story about breadfruit export. So let's talk about what you plan to do for breadfruit and any of those natural raw products that are available. So we are looking at a couple of products, particularly for agriculture, like you mentioned earlier. Breadfruit being one of the ones we've had to work with the most recently. What we've noticed as of late that some of our offerings, they end up being spoiled more or less when they actually get to market, especially in the UK because of some of the conditions. What we try to put together right now is a training session for our exporters of breadfruit, for them to know the proper practices, protocols, procedures that should be implemented in their picking, harvesting, and shipping off of the product to actually get them the best product when it actually gets to that destination. So they wouldn't have any problems in terms of a buyer being dissatisfied or something just being wrong with it. So we put all these in place just to ensure that we have the best product possible when it gets to market. And that really is the end result. That is what we are trying to do with breadfruit. And a couple of other agriculture products, but more on that will come about in time. Well, Jason, thank you so much for taking your time to chat with us here today. So just let us know how we can contact you, what the process would be like to access some of your support, your services, someone who got to see the show, who might be like, hey, I could probably try and see because I know we're very big on chocolate and we don't even tap into these markets yet. The Rural Women's Association, I know there's one in Miku, there's Babono. So let's talk about how anybody watching this show can access the support from Exports St. Lucia. Well, all you have to do is walk in, although people can't really walk in not because of COVID-19 and everything, but you can call in, you can contact us via our website that is www.exportsstlucia.org and that's St. Lucia, S-A-I-N-T. And it's the same thing on all our social media handles. You're talking about Instagram, Facebook and Twitter at Exports St. Lucia. Anybody could reach us, just shoot us a message and we will reply, we are here to help. Yes? But thank you very much, Chaser. No problem, Daniel, anytime. Tired of battling large numbers of mosquitoes in the comfort of your home? The more you fight, the more defeated you feel? How about taking on a longer lasting solution? Ensure that drums or buckets are properly covered after each use. Drain and dispose of any unwanted containers to reduce potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Do not allow tires to collect water on your property. Fill them with soil to make your own vegetable gardens or plant flowers. Polydispose garbage can collect water. Use secure bins when disposing of garbage in order to reduce mosquito breeding. Keep vegetation low to allow daylight in and remove hiding places for mosquitoes and other pests. Check your roof gutters regularly to prevent mosquito breeding. Regularly inspect your property for signs of mosquitoes. Following these tips once a week can reduce the population of mosquitoes in and around your home. For more information, visit or call the Environmental Health Division in Guadalajara, at 468-3700 or 468-3737. Welcome back. Thank you so much, Jason, for letting us know more about the opportunities Export St. Lucia can provide to support local businesses to expand to export capacity. Thank you and keep stepping up. We continue our journey into understanding the role of Export St. Lucia and highlighted a local company that has benefited from their support. Chemical Manufacturing and Investment Company Limited Chemical is now exporting products to Dominica and hopes to expand further regionally. We went down to view for to visit their main office and manufacturing plant to learn more about this long-standing local company and how Export St. Lucia assisted in the regional export. Thank you so much for saying yes and agreeing to do this interview. How are you today? I'm fine. Thank you, Daniel, for visiting us and I'm pleased to be able to speak with you today. My name is Thomas Rosary and I'm the Managing Director for Chemical Manufacturing and Investment Company. We have been around from 1986 and that is about 34 years ago. Over a minute. We started this plant. It has not been a very easy road to travel. We have had our own challenges in terms of getting the plant to where it is at this point. However, I can recall when we started in 1986 we started with a little concrete tank and we were practically using our hands to do the mixing of the chemicals. However, we have come quite a long way at this point and we produce now apart from the household bleach that we started with we produce some 22 other products which you will get a chance to see in a little bit. But generally it's been an uphill struggle. We're still around and we are happy to be here to be able to provide the products that can develop the war against COVID-19 and we have been very lucky in the sense that we have been able to stay in production. Our employees have not been affected to date and we have about 55 persons employed with this organisation. Wow, 55 persons who have not lost a job due to COVID-19. No, we have had no doubt in terms of whatever. So, talk to me a little bit about why bleach? What was the, you know, I'm getting a little bit of history from you. I didn't know that you were into cars and insurance as well. So, talk about the what made you start chemical? Initially, we used to distribute a product by the name of Mavex, Mavex Bleach, which was produced in Ansleray. That's many years ago. I was the key distributor for bleach on the island and I found myself in difficulty with some of the local distributors who were importing bleach into the country. At that time, Mavex Bleach was protected by government and so persons were unable to import bleach on island. And for whatever reason, the efficiency of the plant was not there. And I came, in fact, a lot of the persons who distributed the product on the island was at war with me because we could not supply. When I observed that Mavex could not supply on the island, I decided that, hey, I better do something about it. And that's when I decided that I would set up a facility to produce a similar brand of product. And in August of 1986, we introduced chemicals into the market. Wow, so you basically developed chemicals started by solving a problem. That's correct. So we were now able to supply some of the local distributors and we are here. And how easy was it for you to establish because, you know, 1986 and now is a long time, how easy was it for you to penetrate the market? What was it like, were you welcomed on the local market? So talk about your deals. Well, let's not forget that when I started chemical bleach, I was already well known in the market as a distributor. And not only that, but I had established myself as a supplier for office stationery on island. So pretty much everybody knew me then. And so getting the product marketed at that time was not a very difficult task. I used to be a driver's salesman and I would go around the island marketing the product. So it was not difficult to get the product test done. And basically you are already in the supply channel. So right now you have to just step back and go into the production aspect of it. Nice. So, you know, of course, we know that recently that you were successful at exporting to Dominica. Can you talk to us about that and let us know? Well, exporting to the islands have always pulled the challenge for us. Many years ago, we used to distribute the product in Guyana, in Antigua, Dominica, and Grenada. However, I had some difficulties then, especially in the stability of the product. And we were experiencing a number of problems with the packaging. And so we lost some money initially as a result of that. And even in the local market, we have had our own problems. I'm sure, I don't know if you know it, but we have had people complaining about caps, cracking and stuff like that. We have been fortunate in the sense that we have solved those problems. But manufacturing is not one of the easiest things to get into. And so we have more or less fine-tuned the packaging of the products. And so there is greater acceptability of the product in both the local and regional market. And with the assistance of Export St. Lucia, and especially I have to thank Anthony John for his continuous support in helping us put this thing together. We had quite a bit of assistance from Miss Alphonse, who was with Export St. Lucia at the time. But from the time Anthony came in, we have had some success. And we were able to export our post-container of products to Dominica. And that's the first time you've exported in how long? In maybe the last 15, 20 years. So what exactly did Export St. Lucia do to secure that opportunity for you guys? Well, I think they had a trade show in Dominica. And of course, some of the distributors in Dominica came to see them. And they introduced my company and my products to them. And they subsequently contacted me. And I have been communicating with them along since. And Anthony has also been following up on what's been happening. So together, we were able to finally secure. Yeah, they were able to give you that exposure, to be able to snipe. What's next for you? Especially you on the advent of COVID-19, you imagine during COVID, you were able to secure that shipment. And I guess because the type of business you're in, sanitation, which is something that's like way up there in terms of demand. Well, actually, when COVID-19 hit the island, we were not prepared for it. And we experienced quite a bit of shortages because the demand was so heavy. But since then, we have been able to streamline our external purchasing to accommodate the production level that is required. And so now imagine we were able to complete that Dominica order. So we have been able to keep the local market supplied. And where do we go from here? It's a matter of time before we are now targeting the other islands in the Caribbean. And we're working along with Anthony as well to making sure that we are able to capture some of the business that are on the other islands. I am very encouraged by your story, especially, you know, we had a little chit-chat before and he spoke about the developments and the growth. And really, actually, it wasn't all of this. It started with what you said, a small town. And that's how you used to make the bleach? I used to make the bleach by mixing the chemicals by hand. Yes. So we've come a long way. So with that, as we conclude, what message do you have for young people, anybody in business today, you know, just based on your journey? What can you share with others? A lot of people believe that you must have a huge amount of money to start a business. I started on a shoestring. And one of the things I did is that I found a need and I was able to fill it. So don't think that you cannot start a business without having money. I had the cooperation of a lot of people. And I think that I developed quite a trustworthy attitude with everybody that I did business with. And as a result, I am able to do the thing that I'm doing by having the trust of a lot of my suppliers. And one of the things I have learned is that if I go to a shop and they don't have a product, there must be a reason for it. And once I can find the product, it means that the owner of the business probably have not had the time to go looking for that product or nobody with the product have come to them to supply them. So when I walk in and I asked for, let us say razor blades. As a little shop owner, you're supposed to have razor blades selling. So what I do now is I go find who who sells razor blades. I buy it and bring it for them and I make a percentage. And that is how I have been able to succeed in a lot of my businesses, even without money. Because what I do is that I come to you who can supply and I say to you, listen, I have my brother here who needs razor blades. Give me a supply of it. I will bring it for him. When he pays me, I will pay you. And the collaboration continues. And that can happen with many businesses in St. Lucia where we can ensure we become the conduit in supplying what is required. So don't think that you need a whole ton of money. You can, our employment problems can be resolved here quite a bit by people becoming creative and developing the sales attitude. The sales attitude and solving problems and solving solving problems. We complain so much. They complain, but once you can solve somebody's problems, you have a chance to make someone. And that is the secret of it. Mr. Rosu, thank you so much for this interview. I must say I re-enjoyed this opportunity and I'm looking forward. He promised us a tour of the plant, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it all goes down and that chemical bleach or disinfectant you have at your home. You're going to see how it's made right here in St. Lucia in Newport. So we'll be right back. I couldn't help end this discussion without introducing Carla, who is our general manager and she does all of the coordination of the plant and she has been of tremendous assistance throughout the years with us. In fact, she's recently celebrated her 21st, is it 21st? 22nd year with us, so she looks young but filled with experience. Long-standing employee. Exactly. So she's been of tremendous value to the company. Okay, okay. What is it like looking for chemical? I mean, you spend most of your life looking at this local company. It's been a good experience. I mean, it's had ups and downs, but all in all, it's been a good experience. Why is it that you would like St. Lucia to know about chemical? You know, it's just been an indigenous company. Everybody knows about it, but why is it that you think St. Lucia should know about the company? Well, we have a range of cleaning products for almost every need. And our products have been upgraded. They're more environmentally friendly. And we have removed a lot of the carcinogenic raw materials in there, which is safer for people with sensitive skin, people who have allergies and sinuses and stuff like that. I want to especially thank my wife for her support over the years. She's done a tremendous job in providing the necessary support for me. So to all of our St. Lucia's, I say thank you and especially to my staff and all of the employees of the company. I want to say a special thank you for their support and their cooperation. I cannot help but to thank the people of Viewfort and the whole of St. Lucia who have over the years supported and encouraged us and to help us to be where we are today. I thank every St. Lucia for their support and I look forward to receiving their continued support as we expand and create more employment in the country. Thank you, Daniel, and it was a pleasure having you. And I look forward to seeing you visit us again. Thank you, Mr. Rosary, for allowing us to visit the chemical headquarters. Now it's time for Linkup. Junean Alfred is a 19-year-old student athlete at the University of Texas at Austin. She started track and field at the age of nine and at 14, just finishing from two, she embarked on a new track journey at St. Catherine High School in Jamaica where she broke two junior records in both the 100 meters and the 200 meters and won the annual Digicel Grand Prix under 20 100 meters. She's won several medals and broke international records. A silver medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games and in 2019 outdoor season, she broke the senior national records in the 100 meters and 200 meters. Despite an injury, she recovered and got back on the track and in December 2019, she set a new national record in the 60 meters, creating history as the fastest 60-meter time ran in December since 2001. Ladies and gentlemen, Julian Alfred. Good morning, Julian. How are you today? Good morning. I'm doing fine. Thank you. And I understand it's really, really, really early and I just want to say thanks for agreeing to do this interview with you with us this morning. So can you tell us about your journey? You said that, you know, that you went to Leon Hesse but Renyan and Chuni, your talent was discovered at the C-serial combined primary school. So let's talk to us about your journey and give us a brief summary as to how you are in Texas today. So I started at the age of nine and my talent was recognized even before that. At the age of nine, I joined a club in San Monsha, the speed sprinty survivors. And from there, I went to Leon Hesse for like two years and I went to John Maker and my talent was recognized as a competition in Trinidad. That's how I got the scholarship to go to John Maker and I spent three years there and after that, I took some time off from school and from everything and I got a scholarship to go to Texas. Okay. And is it a track and field scholarship? What's the type of scholarship? What's the arrangement like? So I am one of full athletic scholarship in Texas. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Okay. And how long will you be there and what are you studying? So I'll be here for four years, hopefully if I don't, you know, take on the professional path. But right now I'm studying psychology. Nice. And in your vision when you were a child, did you envision that it was psychology? Psychology and track and field seems like too very... So tell us about that. Honestly, psychology hasn't really been something that I thought about but my first time representing San Lucia at the international stage, I realized the importance of a sports psychologist and that's when I decided I wanted to study psychology because I want to like help young athletes like myself like when they have to like go represent San Lucia. So that's why I took on that path. Nice. That's an interesting niche. I never heard about a sports psychologist, you know. So I guess they take care of like things like the motivation and just try to help them through it or would you say that sports men and women, they deal with a lot of things or are some of the things as a sports psychologist you would deal with? In that position. I will basically tackle like the mental aspects. So like when sometimes when we go out to compete, your mind takes control like over your body and I feel like it happens a lot, especially like with me. Like my mind really controls the way I feel and perform and just having that attitude to like just controlling those and just continue to have positive thinking like when they prepare to like compete. So yeah. Nice. So I know that you competed in a lot of championships and track and field. You've been blazing and winning medals. Tell us what has been your proudest moment so far, your greatest achievement as well. So I have achieved like a lot of great stuff and even though I have done a few great stuff like on the international level, I will say my proudest moment would be winning Big 12. And I say that because when I came to Texas, I honestly, I wasn't the best. On my first time running at Big 12, I only competed in the 16 meters and I placed fifth. And last season, 2019 to 2020, I was leading the nation in the 16 meters and I also won Big 12 and broke the Big 12 record. So I think that's my proudest moment because of how far I've come. And I guess you had to work a lot on your mental and lots of training. What was your preparation like for being able to do such a feat? So because I went out like so early last year because of a hamstring injury, I would say I was really motivated to come out and just show my true potential, sorry. And when I got back to Texas, like I've just been, I was just on my toes, like always doing like stuff, like just doing stuff at my best and just trying to be on top always with career. And I guess as an athlete, a lot of it is commitment to be in your best self and discipline and training. I guess the more you train, the better you become and it's the holistic being that you're grooming and you're developing. So from your experience, especially from judging your own self and saying, you know what, I have to do better next time. What is it that you have to tell to young upcoming athletes right here in St. Lucia, primary school, secondary school who are all watching Julian Alfred? I know that you're a very, the prime minister is like your biggest fan. You know, so what he's always talking about, you know, she didn't say she just say she was going. So I guess that has, in terms of your mind, your grit and the fact that you wanted so much. What is it that you have to say to St. Lucia's watching you from afar? So one thing that I've learned over the past few years in Chuck and Phil, I would say to always give you your best. I never think that you're good enough because there's always somebody out there who's much better than you are and there's always somebody out there who's much faster than you are. So giving you your best at all times would be best for you and there's never a thing that you, like you're the best out there because there's always somebody who's out there that's much faster and that's something that I've learned over the past few years. So then you get that solace from just try your best and once you know you've done your best, you know, that's what makes you sleep at night. Yeah, so two more questions for you. What, how do you think St. Lucia can better prepare for support after you decide yourself? So I was training with the Space Printing Survivors and my coach in St. Lucia is covered modest. Most people know him as twatine. And I think that I got a lot of support from him as a person. And one thing that I've realized in St. Lucia, like when athletes get to a certain age, they tend to like fall out and not continue. So I think that having coaches in St. Lucia who continue to like be after those athletes and continue to like keep them on the game and continue to like motivate those athletes, I think that would be the best for them because some athletes for me, I would say that twatine was always on my back because there'll be times when I was going to Leonis, I would just go in town online and be on this go-in with my friends in town and talking to my own like- I might have a handshake. That's the rating I lost. But they would always tell me like, you know, those things would like always be there. And I mean, once I like get older, like those things like won't even matter anymore. So I feel like having somebody like him by my side, honestly, me and I feel like there should be more coaches like that to like help those athletes to be on tour with the game and to like continue track, continue whatever sport that they're in. Also the support comes from the parents as well. Once the parents know that the children can like have two potential, I feel like the parents can also support those children because my mom supported me all the way. I mean, even though she didn't have it all, she still encouraged me to like continue track and feel like even like, she supported me to like go to Jamaica. I mean, some parents wouldn't allow the children to like go to another country by themselves. Secondary school, I didn't know it was secondary school and we informed to you just decide to go. You're bad, so I thought it was like a case like you informed five and you decided to go, but I didn't know it was in the middle of your secondary school tenure, so. Yeah, so I was informed to when I left. So if she didn't support me that way, then I wouldn't, I don't think I would have made it this far in my career. Yeah, I think people forget a lot about the support systems that we need for these people to be able to excel and sometimes it's not about having the biggest stadium or the best, you know. I mean, these things are important, but it's the push and the people and that support system to basically groom the talent. My last question for you. So Junya and Alfred, we know that you're a household name. Tell St. Lucia something about you that we don't know. You know, what is it that you probably think you could share with us? Um, I'm not sure what I expect and share, but I think that something that some persons might not know is that I'm really family oriented. Family oriented? Yes, I am. And I really love my family and I mean, they're my motivation, honestly. I'm also a very shy person. I realize. I'm very shy and I'm an introvert. But once I like warm up to people, I can be the sweetest and I can be funny sometimes once I've warmed up to that person. So, yeah. Well, Junya and I'm looking forward to seeing you at press conferences and Berlin and fans and wherever they have Olympics, whenever we do have Olympics, saying thank you St. Lucia and thanks to my family I wish you all the best. I know we're waiting to see you reach Olympics and that we could, you know, raise our flag high and support you, but thank you so much and keep up the good work and all of St. Lucia is rooting for you. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. I'm ready to go. Bye. That's it for this week's installment of Stepping Up. Don't forget to shoot me an email at SteppingUp758 at gmail.com. If you or someone you know should be featured on the show. Thanks again for joining me. I'm your host, Daniel Dubois. See you next time. Until then, keep safe and don't forget to keep Stepping Up.