By Nna Anulumadu
Wife of the Anambra State Governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo, has flagged -off her healthy living campaign programme across Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Institutions in the State.
The programme tagged “School Club, ‘Healthy Living With Nonye Soludo” is to promote and encourage a healthy living among students. Addressing about 200 Teachers Ambassadors, inducted into her Healthy Living Club in Awka, on Tuesday, via virtual, the governor’s wife tasked them to be good ambassadors to their various schools for the benefit of students, parents and their host communities.
According to her, “today, you are taking up a responsibility to self and to humanity. This is one call worthy of true dedication, passion and enthusiasm. You have been selected for this noble task because you bear a mark of hard work. Now is the time to go even further. Our target is one and simple: Success. A large chunk of it lies with you. You must carry that in your hearts and minds as we march to making this unique brand a household philosophy.
“Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo is a product of deep passion. What we want to achieve is a culture of consciousness. A mindset of change. Being conscious of one’s body is the first step to achieving the right health.
“Living right does not cost a fortune. It is all about simple and deliberate habits that define one’s approach to a healthy life. It begins with what you eat and how you take care of your body. I prefer to use the slogan: “You are what you eat.” The bottom line is that if you do not understand what goes into your mouth, your body will not. Healthy living is a very conscious practice. To live healthy is to live happy. Therefore, our central focus is to guide the students on the routines for healthy living.
“My dear Ambassadors, we are entrusting you with faith. You have been called up for something historical. A brand that you must carry with pride. I urge you to take up this duty with commitment. Your job is both demanding and exceptional. You are a major part of what we wish to achieve. As a Teacher Ambassador, your responsibility is to groom our students in line with the standards that we have set. We expect to have frequent reports of the club’s activities in your designated schools. The reports will help us to monitor your successes, understand your needs and direction. Our club activities have been streamlined to be very effective. The club manual should be a daily reference for you and club members. “Club rules are sacrosanct. You must ensure that every club member represents our brand of excellence in character, appearance and understanding.
“Healthy living is a crucial way of life. Our relationship with the body will ultimately define what it gives back. If you feed it well, it gives you wellness. If you feed it badly, it gives you sickness. That is the ideology we want to instill in the minds of our students.
“Healthy living with Nonye Soludo is designed to give every student a platform to succeed. Each club member carries an identity of difference. That is why we insist that one of the requirements for being a club member is cleanliness. Members of the club must stick to its foundational norms, always. We have set our standards high because healthy living requires strong discipline.
We want to reflect that principle on everything that we do. Therefore, as a Teacher Ambassador, those responsibilities fall on your shoulders. Whether we succeed or fail in this quest is in your hands. But we must succeed. “As you go back to kick off the movement in your school’s, remember that you will always have our support, Mrs Soludo assured.
Earlier in his speech, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Ben Obidike, while commending the initiative, noted that the programme which is in collaboration with the State Ministry of Health and Education, is in line with governor Soludo’s vision of making Anambra a livable, healthy and prosperous state in Nigeria. He said the governor’s wife also use the event to celebrate this year 2023 World Drug Day in the state.
The State programme coordinator, Mr. Chigbue Nweke, in his address, said that the schools coordinators are expected to lead club members, interpret club’s guidelines and philosophies to students and also ensure that members are actively involved in every activity of the club. According to him, Healthy Living Club, an initiative of ‘Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo’, is an open forum for hygiene and right health enthusiasts, driven by ethics and passion. “The project aims to set up Healthy Living Clubs in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary institutions in Anambra State, that will serve as formative grounds for education and exposure of school children, teenagers and young people to the basics of healthy living, and how they can incorporate the best living and wellness principles into their daily lives. He noted that the programme being the first phase, will also run in Church and Market places.
