MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony has adopted the saying that “charity starts at home” as he, in his continued efforts to improve the lives of Guyanese through exercise and consciousness about fitness, internalised his goal by launching a “Fitness for Life” gym for the employees of his ministry.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony cuts the ceremonial ribbon to declare the “Fitness for Life” gym officially open

A feat which was noted to be the first in the history of all the ministries, by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCY&S) Alfred King.

King also stated that since this venture is intended to make the employees healthier individuals he hopes that the benefits will be evident in the improvement of the work and productivity of the staffers.

The emergence of the “Fitness for Life” initiative three years ago, was due to the realisation of the decline in proper lifestyles which resulted in a massive onset of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases which are among the top ten causes of death in the Caribbean.

Dr. Anthony said that it came as a combative method to resolve the issue of such diseases, he countered that 30 minutes of daily exercise is just the remedy needed as a preventative step.

Dr. Anthony said that the first strike of the “Fitness for Life” implementation was in the form of the gym that was set up at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) and now the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has taken it upon itself to lead by example.

The Minister said that the effort is multi-faceted in its benefits as it will also bolster staff interaction and promote recreation; he said that plans for the further upgrade of the facility are also in thought.

The appointed instructor of the gym Mr. Prince said that diligence will be the watch-word for the gym members whom he urged to fully utilise to the best of their ability and to pass on their experiences in an effort to encourage individuals who are not inclined to physical activity to get enrolled in a fitness programme.

In giving the charge to the attendees of the opening ceremony he reminded them of the time honoured saying that “within a healthy body there is a healthy mind.”