In recognition of Physical Activity Day we hosted a webinar in partnership with the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, CARPHA and. PAHO. This webinar This webinar explored innovative strategies that can promote physical activity in young people, from policy and climate impacts to practical, community-driven solutions.
In recognition of Physical Activity Day we hosted a webinar in partnership with the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, CARPHA and. PAHO. This webinar This webinar explored innovative strategies that can promote physical activity in young people, from policy and climate impacts to practical, community-driven solutions.
On Saturday 24th July 2021, we hosted a webinar on fibroids and exercise. This webinar was part of our Fibroids Awareness Month event series which aims to empower women living with fibroids with information on the lifestyle changes that may alleviate their symptoms and improve their overall health and wellbeing.
In this session, we explored the power of exercise in managing fibroids symptoms. We discussed whether exercise can be beneficial in managing fibroids symptoms and we looked at some simple, low-impact exercises that women can easily try at home through fun demonstrations of barre, yoga and other exercises.
Speakers included:
If you missed this webinar, you can watch the recording below.
Our next webinar will be held on Saturday 31st July 2021 at 11am AST. This webinar will focus on fibroids and mental health.
In this webinar, Olivia Haltman, an accredited counsellor, will help women identify, understand and address the many ways that fibroids can affect a woman’s mental health.
We’ll empower women with the tools they need to improve their emotional wellbeing and successfully navigate the challenges that living with fibroids may present – these include managing and dealing with debilitating symptoms, fertility issues, tensions within relationships and the challenges that having fibroids may create in work, home and social settings.
This is a free webinar. You can register here
Back in January we had the pleasure of joining Go Venture SKN’s first hike of the year which was to the summit of Mount Liamuiga. This was such a wonderful experience, personally and physically (great exercise!), so we thought we’d share it.
To give you a bit of background, Mount Liamuiga is a 3,792-foot volcano found in the north-western region of the beautiful Caribbean island of St Kitts. The peak of Mount Liamuiga is the highest point in St Kitts and it has a steep-walled, 1-km wide crater.
The last confirmed eruption of the volcano was 1800 years ago, reports of eruptions in 1692 and 1843 have yet to be confirmed. So, it’s pretty much considered a dormant volcano except for some active fumaroles in the crater and two periods of earthquake swarms from 1988 to 1989 and 1999 to 2000.
We have had our eye on the great Mount Liamuiga for some time, contemplating a hike up to its peak and then down into its crater. We’d heard stories of how challenging the hike is, so that had deterred us until this opportunity arose and we thought “How difficult can it really be?” – we certainly found out!
The Go Ventures SKN team (our guides for this hike) was great, we loved their positive energy and great customer service throughout the process starting with keeping us informed in the lead up to the day of the hike and giving us a quick check-in call the day before to brief us on what to expect (it usually rains at the peak) and what to bring (snacks, drinks, water resistant clothing etc).
Climbing up Mount Liamuiga
It was a fairly early start on the day of the hike (7:15am meeting time) and after a warm welcome, an introduction and driving up to the starting point, we began the hike at about 8am.
Our hike up to the peak was amazing, I can’t provide you with a description that would do justice to the beautiful scenery we encountered as we made our way through the lush rain-forest that covers the slopes leading up to the top of the mountain.
As I looked around, I marvelled at the intricate arrangement of trees and plants – roots were beautifully intertwined, smaller plants were happily sharing living space and creeping along huge imposing trees and unusual root structures led from tree to tree.
I was surprised to learn that the rain-forest wasn’t home to many insects or animals. I was expecting to dodge spiders and other creepy crawlies, and possibly spot some interesting animals along the way. Not at all. Our Go Ventures SKN guides explained that you rarely see any signs of insects (just a few snails sleeping under leaves) and the monkeys that are found in large numbers all over the island don’t venture out to the mountains. So, it was pretty uneventful from that point of view, thank goodness!
The hike was tough with a capital T!
After about an hour I was absolutely exhausted, and we weren’t even half way to the top of the mountain. I didn’t think I would make it. The hiking trail is rocky and there was a lot of climbing, as in holding on to rocks and trees and climbing up (or in my case being pushed up by my husband!). I had envisioned a nicely landscaped path that would gradually lead us up the mountain. This was not the case and to be honest, I am glad it wasn’t a nicely landscaped path. This was much better, I got an excellent workout and it was fun, even though at times I was ready to quit because I was so tired and my heart was pounding.
As we climbed further and further up the mountain, the temperature steadily dropped and by the time we got to the top of the mountain (over 2 hours after we started), it was freezing cold and raining heavily. Thank goodness we came prepared with our raincoats.
Climbing down Mount Liamuiga
Sadly, the rain was so heavy and the cloud cover at the summit so thick that we couldn’t go down into the crater for safety reasons. We tried to wait it out, but alas the rain and cloud wouldn’t let up. So, we braved the rain as much as we could, had our packed lunch, took in the fresh air and as much of the view as we could whilst in the midst of quite dense cloud cover and then proceeded to make our way back down the mountain.
The hike back down was just as tough and made all the more challenging by the rain, so it was quite slippery. I had a few close calls but managed to make it back down in one piece and still smiling. I loved it!
All in all, the hike took us 5 hours. This included quite a few breaks and a 30-minute stop at the top of the mountain. By the end of the hike we were muddy, wet and exhausted but I was feeling invigorated and inspired by my encounter with nature.
Nature is such a great teacher. As I was making may way up and down Mount Liamuiga, I reflected on the wisdom this old mountain had to offer. Lessons that speak to our wellbeing.
We can be so focused on getting to our destination that we forget to enjoy the journey
Focusing on the journey ahead
About an hour or so into the hike, I was one determined lady. I was going to get to the top of the mountain even if it killed me. This meant I was laser focused on that objective and had stopped looking around to truly appreciate the journey up the mountain. It wasn’t until one of the Go Ventures team members said: “Turn around and look at that view” did I realise that I was missing the best part of the hike – the beauty, the unusual trees and the artwork created by the way in which all the vegetation was connected. It was at that moment that I stopped focusing so much on getting to the top and started to really take in the scenery and appreciate the beauty all around me.
Life can be like that too. We can be so focused on getting to the top of our careers or achieving a particular goal that we don’t enjoy our experiences in their entirety . Oftentimes, when we get to our destination it is often too late to really appreciate the journey or we’re so focused on moving on to the next goal that we forget to take a moment to bask in our success or take time out to enjoy the important things in the journey of life, like our family and friends.
The need for real connection in communities
Saying hello from Mount Liamuiga
One thing Mount Liamuiga kept teaching me with every footstep is the need for real human connection in our communities.
In this fast-paced world we live in, it’s hard to form a real community that is connected, where there is genuine interest and concern about each other. This means people can become very isolated and lonely and miss out on forming important friendships and relationships.
As I looked at the rain-forest community, I could see the connections that make the rain-forest a thriving eco-system. Trees and plants are interconnected. Larger plants provide support to smaller plants helping them reach the sunlight, plants with deep root systems provide much-needed grounding to those that need it and root systems talk to each other daily – there is constant contact and checking-in. No one is left behind or alone.
This made me think that it’s important for us to make time for face-to-face interactions so that we can begin build genuine relationships within our community, making our communities stronger.
The importance of silence
One thing that struck me, particularly on the way back down the mountain, when the guides had switched off the music, was how quiet the rain-forest was. It was a bit eerie at first. I was expecting to hear signs of life, but nope, it was extremely quiet. It was hard to believe that despite the rain-forest being packed with trees, plants and sleeping snails, it was really quiet. It got me thinking that I am not used to being still. I am used to so much noise. If it’s not the TV, it’s music, podcasts and radio. If it’s not that then it’s my inner noise – constant worrying, inner thoughts, thinking, planning and endless restlessness.
The two hours of peace and quiet during the hike started to feel like bliss. Time to clear my mind and reflect. I didn’t realise how mentally tired I was, and the silence gave my mind a much-needed break. Mentally I never felt better than in those moments of silence. It had been a tough few months and this moment of peace had been the medicine I needed to usher in a sense of peace.
A short video of our hike to Mount Liamuiga
This hike was a wonderful experience .The beauty of our surroundings, being at one with nature, getting some good exercise and the positive vibes from Go Ventures SKN made this a memorable experience. This hike highlighted the importance of the great outdoors in improving our mental wellbeing and giving us the opportunity to recover from the pressures of modern-day life.
Do you live in St Kitts or will you be visiting St Kitts soon? Then we highly recommend that you give the Go Ventures SKN team a call and book a hike with them. You can visit their Facebook page to find dates for their next hikes.
If you want to find out more about the wellbeing benefits of the outdoors, then check out a guest blog post from Capital Garden Services about gardening and wellbeing here
World Cancer Day is on 4th February and it gives the world the opportunity to come together to raise awareness and campaign on key issues to improve the care, support and treatment given to patients.
Organisers, the UICC, announced that the theme for World Cancer Day is #IAmAndIWill and this theme highlights that fact that whoever you are, you have the power to reduce the impact of cancer for yourself, the people you love and for the world.
The campaign therefore encourages everyone to make a commitment by using the hashtag and sharing who you are and what you will commit to in order to tackle cancer.
Our World Cancer Day commitment is to focus on children and raise awareness of the fact that overweight or obese children are more likely to become overweight or obese adults, and being overweight as an adult increases a person’s risk of developing cancer. In fact, the World Cancer Research Fund has found that being overweight or obese throughout adulthood is linked to an increased risk of developing 12 types of cancer.
Our campaign appeals to parents to reduce their children’s future cancer risk by ensuring they’re a healthy weight now, and this can be achieved by ensuring that children:
Childhood obesity is a significant challenge here in St Kitts and Nevis. A PAHO report revealed that 33% of secondary school children in the twin island state were overweight and 14% were obese. More recently, in 2017, a UNICEF report stated that 26% of children in St Kitts and Nevis are obese. We have to tackle childhood obesity to improve the health of our children to ensure they become happy, healthy adults.
We believe that by beating childhood obesity we can also contribute to beating cancer, and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“I am Lake Health and Wellbeing and I will make an impact by spreading the word
about childhood obesity increasing a child’s future cancer risk” – #IamAndIWill
Our work doesn’t stop after World Cancer Day, we’re working to beat childhood obesity all year round through our new childhood obesity prevention project.
We’re currently working on developing innovative resources to get children active so they can easily get to and maintain a healthy weight.
You can get involved by raising awareness on social media and sharing your thoughts on this issue. You can use any of the images below or the short video clips below.
Also, we’d love it if you could support us by making a donation, which will go towards our childhood obesity prevention project.
You can make a donation below:
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Thank you for any support you’re able to provide and we hope you’ll join us for World Cancer Day to #BeatChildhoodObesity and #BeatCancer
In October, we started a new consultancy project with our client being the FIT Wellness Centre in Nevis. This piece of work has involved us assisting the FIT Wellness Centre in developing their non-communicable disease (NCD) action plan and with the implementation of their National Weight Loss Campaign, a key part of their action plan.
In November, we took part in a press conference to discuss FIT’s NCD Prevention Action Plan and the National Weight Loss Campaign and were delighted to be featured on the NNC News.
We’re really happy to share the news clip with you. You can check it out below.
If you’re based in Nevis and would like to take part in the National Weight Loss Campaign, please email us and if you’re creative and would like the chance to win $500EC, then you can enter the slogan competition for the campaign. You can find out more here.
Are you good with words? Are you creative? Then we want to hear from you!
We’re inviting residents of Nevis to take part in our tagline/slogan competition for the National Weight Loss Campaign.
The competition is open to all residents of Nevis. Entries should be clear, concise, catchy and easy to understand. They must also appeal to a wide audience and follow the basic guidelines below:
You can submit your entry in any of the following ways:
A winner will be selected, and this slogan will be used for the National Weight Loss Campaign. Three runners up will also be selected, and these slogans will be used throughout the campaign on social media.
There will also be a cash prize of $500EC, sponsored by the FIT Wellness Centre, for the winner.
For further information please contact Abi Begho by calling 667 0079 or emailing info@lakehealthandwellbeing.com
The National Weight Loss Campaign starts in January 2019 and aims to help residents of Nevis lose weight through a fun six-month weight loss challenge that will support participants in getting active and eating a healthier diet. Participants will be guided through the six-month period with advice, tips, healthy recipes, fun events and one-to-one support. There will also be prizes for the person who loses the most weight in their category, recognition of those who have succeeded in losing their target weight and we’ll be following specific people on their weight loss journey.
In October 2018, we began consulting with the F.I.T. Wellness Center in Nevis to assist with the development and implementation of their NCD Prevention Action Plan, part of their NCD Prevention Programme.
On 27th November 2018, we were delighted to join F.I.T. in the launch of their NCD Prevention Action Plan and the announcement of their upcoming National Weight Loss Campaign.
The launch took the form of a press conference and was attended by the major media outlets in Nevis. The event was chaired by Mr David Walwyn, Director of the F.I.T Wellness Center and featured on the panel were:
Dr Judy Nisbett, Chief Medical Officer for Nevis, who discussed the cost of NCDs, this included direct and indirect costs as well as the impact NCDs have on familiesNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and cancer are a major health challenge in St Kitts and Nevis with 83% of deaths in the Federation being due to these conditions.
One of the key factors driving NCDs in St Kitts and Nevis is the high rate of obesity. In 2012, PAHO reported that 32.5% of secondary school children in St Kitts and Nevis were overweight and 14.4% were obese and a more recent report published by UNICEF in 2017 stated that 26% of children in St Kitts and Nevis were obese. We know that children who are overweight or obese are more likely to become overweight or obese adults and this puts them at a high risk of developing NCDs like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Obesity rates in St Kitts and Nevis in adults aged 25 to 64 is high with a 2008 study stating that 33.5% of adults in this age group were overweight and 45% were obese.
F.I.T. has developed its answer to NCDs by developing its NCD Prevention Action Plan which will focus on supporting residents of Nevis to get fit, healthy and lose weight, and thus reduce their risk of developing an NCD. A core part of the action plan is the National Weight Loss Campaign which will start in January 2019.
The National Weight Loss Campaign aims to help residents of Nevis lose weight through a fun six-month weight loss challenge that will support participants in getting active and eating a healthier diet. Participants will be guided through the six-month period with advice, tips, healthy recipes, fun events and one-to-one support. There will also be prizes for the person who loses the most weight in their category, recognition of those who have succeeded in losing their target weight and we’ll be following specific people on their weight loss journey.
Technology will play an important role in the campaign and we’ll be creating a web-based health portal where participants can come together, support each other, ask questions, share pictures and videos and receive tips and advice from experts in health and fitness. The health portal will consist of a forum and a chat facility, so we can keep in touch with all participants and provide them with support every step of the way.
The National Weight Loss Campaign is open to everyone in Nevis – old, young, male and female. If an individual would like to lose weight or would like some support in adopting a healthier lifestyle then they are welcome to take part.
The public can register for the campaign by emailing admin@fitwellnesscenter.com or calling (869)-662-8749
Businesses are strongly encouraged to take part in the National Weight Loss Campaign by either registering a team of their staff to get involved in the six-month weight loss challenge or they can play an instrumental role in improving the health and wellbeing of our community by becoming a corporate partner or sponsor.
For more information about this, businesses in Nevis can contact David Walwyn by email or phone (869)-662-8749.
The National Weight Loss Campaign is an initiative of the FIT Wellness Center led by Mr David Walwyn with support from the Ministry of Health and Lake Health and Wellbeing
F.I.T. Wellness Center
Website www.fitwellnesscenter.com
Phone number: 9869) 469-3481 or (869) 662-8749
Email: admin@fitwellnesscenter.com
Ministry of Health, Health Promotion Unit
Phone: (869) 469-5521, (869) 469-8010, (869) 469-7470
Email: healthpromotion@niagov.com
Lake Health and Wellbeing
Website: www.lakehealthandwellbeing.com
Phone: (869) 667 0079
Email: info@lakehealthandwellbeing.com
Following the launch of Caribbean Moves, a new initiative based on the successful Jamaica Moves campaign, the Ministry of Health and Wellness in Barbados launched their Barbados Moves campaign.
The launch took place on 20th October 2018 and was led by Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic, Barbados’ Minister of Health and Wellness. In attendance was Dr Christopher Tufton Jamaica’s health minister, who said:
‘Caribbean Moves’ is an attempt to mobilise the region one country at a time, and one person at a time through taking personal responsibility for your health and by doing the things that are responsible for a healthy life.
“Finally, it’s about uniting the Caribbean through one message, one method, one approach and by extension strengthening us as a people.”
Barbados Moves will form the island’s national approach to tackling non-communicable diseases and will focus on three key areas, similar to Jamaica Moves, which are physical activity, healthy eating and knowing your health status.
Image Credit: Barbados Moves (Instagram)
On 27th September 2018, Caribbean leaders hosted a breakfast meeting at the UN High Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in New York. The theme for this meeting was “Moving the Caribbean Towards Healthier Lives – Step It Up!”
Chaired by Dr Timothy Harris, the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, leaders used this meeting to announce the launch of Caribbean Moves, an initiative that aims to re-energise health promotion efforts across the Caribbean through creative and innovative partnerships.
Caribbean leaders recognised that progress has been made in tackling NCDs but with the Caribbean’s mortality rate for NCDs being the highest in the Americas, a more coordinated approach is needed. Caribbean Moves aims to achieve this.
Caribbean Moves will build on the very successful Jamaica Moves campaign which focuses on physical activity, healthy eating and age appropriate health checks. The Jamaica Moves campaign is led by Dr Christopher Tufton, Jamaica’s Minister of Health, who is a very active participant in the Jamaica Moves campaign. He said of Caribbean Moves:
“This programme is intended to scale up the efforts of ongoing national programmes for increasing physical activity and healthy eating across the Caribbean. Among other things, Caribbean Moves will galvanise countries under one vision but each countries project will be unique fostering a cultural and social movement for regular physical activity within the Caribbean.”
Over the next few months a secretariat will be established for the Caribbean Moves initiative and their remit will be to develop an implementation schedule, coordinate activities and strengthen existing work in the Caribbean Region.
We look forward to seeing the Caribbean Moves initiative develop and are currently working on our own efforts to tackle NCDs in St Kitts and Nevis through a new piece of work we are undertaking with the FIT Wellness Centre in Nevis. More information about this project will be available soon.
Picture Credit: CARICOM
