Heidi Almonte: Health for wealth

This election will be pivotal for the island for the next four years and beyond.

I am Heidi Almonte and will be putting my head above the parapet for the forthcoming election. The last few months have been a fascinating journey, researching, attending many seminars, meeting the community and listening to their views and concerns.

Some are saying 'What’s the point in voting as nothing changes?' but this is the system we have and it is really down to you, the electorate, to choose who you wish to represent you, to bring about the changes you want – and we all know it is time for change.

I have long had an interest in politics but have not, until now, felt the need to actually stand.

The island is at a crossroads, we need to make some fundamental changes, thinking of the future – the rapidly evolving world, and work together as a team of deputies that communicate with the public, charities and committees, to bring those changes about swiftly.

I knew from a very young age that one day I would desire be a politician, and I know that now the time is right.

Our largest cost is health, one of my major passions. Guernsey’s health and social care demands are rapidly increasing; more illness, more time off work, more lives not being lived – plus our population of over 85-year-olds is set to double by 2045, which is great that people have such long lives, but that will need funding and we need to make prevention of illness a part of everything we do, if we are to have any chance to make the finances for health sustainable.

Good housing, good jobs and understanding of one’s own health and opportunities to do the right things so that we can enter our latter years in good health, full of vitality and at less cost to the taxpayers, should be a priority now.

I worked from a very young age for my parents on our tomato vinery and at La Vallette Bathing Pools (on 25p an hour, saving for my house), and that ethos of hard work has remained with me ever since.

I worked for nearly 20 years in accountancy, including foreign exchange manager at Thomas Cook and at Credit Suisse Trust. Following this I changed career to run my own businesses.

Health and well-being has played a huge part in my life, since my health hit a low point 25 years ago when I realised I had to take control of it and notice which foods agree with my body, which foods didn’t, finding exercises that I enjoy (salsa dancing – surprise, surprise), stretching routines and one of the major influences of my improved health – how to deal with stress.

Learning to cope with stress was how my Salsa and Bachata Dance School together with Well Being was born. Wellbeing does not have to be all about what the doctor can do for you, it’s also about what you can do for yourself.

We need as a society to take more responsibility for our bodies, they are our most precious asset.

Understanding how we manage stress and how it affects our health, what we eat, how food affects people differently, how we work and how we play, all has a massive affect on our health.

A large majority of illness is preventable and turning my health around was the best thing I ever did.

Now, 25 years more mature, I am still full of energy, dancing, gardening, sea swimming and with good health and full of vitality. I hope my influence on prevention will help islanders.

Guernsey is stunning, nature is free. If we’re not careful we’re being programmed to live online. Consider swapping a few ‘social media fixes’ with ‘nature fixes’.

Walking, cycling, gardening, if you’re not already plunging your shoulders under the sea after taking a deep breath, go paddling or just walk barefoot on the sand.

Breathing – yes, that is another great, free way to relieve stress and improve wellbeing – get a full deep fix of fresh oxygen in your lungs, preferably surrounded by trees, sink into that mindfulness zone and feel the difference in your body and mind…

Now back to the real world... It should not be forgotten that the finance industry drives the economy, and it’s all very well having a wish lists of thing to do or build, but that comes with a need for income.

So facilitating and assisting the finance industry, like the support given for Moneyval, is crucial while we also continue to look to diversify our economy with additional forms of income and encourage our youngsters back to the island with exciting jobs and careers.

It’s so important we as an island get the fundamentals right – employment, environment and housing. If you don’t have suitable housing whether as an islander or a key worker then you are unlikely to fully thrive.

We need deputies to take their heads out of the sand and get on and find builders/prefab solutions to build housing, to facilitate the private sector and to use the land banks we already have.

Housing is a key issue, we have industries crying out for staff.

We must ensure we are adequately housing our residents.

Another determinant of health I wish to touch on is employment. We need to ensure all islanders have the opportunity to get into work and, where necessary, to ensure there is adequate training.

Where people have fallen out of work due to illness or have struggled to be employed there is an excellent Sohwell Project, which, like many amazing projects, should be more widely known about, to help ensure we have as many islanders as we can in work, feeling part of our community while adding to our economy.

I don’t have all the answers, but we will need candidates who can bring forward policies and evaluate our existing policies and those from others, to ensure they actually enhance the lives of islanders.

We need candidates with common sense, with lived lives and experience to know what is best and what are empty promises, to know what has and hasn’t worked and how we can move forward with speedy action.

Candidates that can communicate with different sectors, including the youth, finance and the hospitality sector, retail, digital, agricultural, fisheries and construction, to work together as a team for the good of the now and the future of Guernsey.

My life has been an interesting journey, with a drive from a young age and a yearning for research.

If I don’t know something I find it out. I have a passion for politics and what it can do for people when done well.

We need to improve our island’s financial wealth and our island’s health with a focus on prevention.

I wish to give that motivation to our youngsters, to live their dreams and to maximise their potential, to travel the world and come back to their island home and families with the skills they have learnt, where they will find good jobs, housing and a lifestyle on a stunningly beautiful island.