GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Senior citizens 60+ on Saturday came out to the Caribbean Wellness Day (CWD) 2015 event making it a success. The event took place on Saturday morning, September 19 at the White & Yellow Cross Foundaiton in St. John’s Estate.
It was a fun day of activities for the country’s seniors who are 60+. The event was organized under the theme “Age Active…U 2 Can Move!”
The three entities responsible for organizing the event were the Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department in the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, the White and Yellow Cross Foundation (WYCF), and the Windward Islands Physical Therapy Association (WIPTA).
The three aforementioned, CPS, WYCF and WIPTA, would first of all like to thank all the seniors and their families that came out to participate in the events of the day. The organizers would also like to than the sponsors, contributors and volunteers for their support and help to make the day a successful one.
Caribbean Wellness Day takes places on the second Saturday in the month of September. It is an annual event geared at increasing awareness and promoting activities to address the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which continues to severely impact the health, economy and development the Region.
While the attention of CWD is on persons of all ages, the focus of attention this year was on the seniors, promoting more movement for them, and as the saying goes, ‘if you don’t use it …you lose it.’
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries recognized the threat posed by NCDs, in The Declaration of Port of Spain. It outlined key strategies to prevent, control and reduce NCDs through the life course. This includes the need to increase physical activity in the entire population, especially in the workplace.
The event and activities planned for seniors was initially scheduled for September 12 but had to be postponed until September 19 due to the approach of Tropical Storm Grace.
The event organized on Saturday still fell within “Wellness Week” activities in the Americas which ran from September 12-19.
The overall objective of both campaigns on Sint Maarten and throughout the Americas was to engage individuals, families, and communities in healthy, active lifestyles for senior citizens.
Saturday, September 19 started off with an opening address by the Acting Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Joy Arnell at9.30AM.
Words of welcome will be delivered by the coordinators of the day representing their respective organizations, Dr. Virginia Asin, CPS, Bregje Boetekees WYCF, and Peter Prinsen, WIPTA at 9.40AM.
The activities for the day for seniors kicked off right after. At 11.20AM goodie bags were distributed to all participants ending the day’s activities.
The activities included a Zumba class; Moving with live music; Bocce game in the garden; Obstacle course; Tai Chi class; and mobility, agility and fitness testing by a therapist.
For WYCF residential clients, there was a “snoezelen,” multisensory activity.
PHOTO CUTLINE: Senior citizens that took part in the CWD activities on Saturday, September 19th.
