MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS), Dr Frank Anthony, yesterday told his audience at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, 30 minutes of exercise is very, very important, when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Dr Anthony was at the time, delivering brief remarks to herald in World Challenge Day which was being observed around the world, with yesterday’s activities being held in collaboration with the National Sports Commission.
“We come together as a nation to exercise today. People around the world are not exercising regularly and there are quite a few persons who are at home, probably playing video games and they are not getting out on the playfields to exercise.
Because they are not doing so, we have problems that are developing and even though the problem varies, one main problem is the people are getting a little fat due to a lack of exercise and they develop sickness” stated Dr Anthony.
He added, “When you get sick early, you are prevented from living a very productive life and we don’t want the children of our country to fall into that trap, which is why we are emphasising that children must exercise for at least 30 minutes every day.
Once you do so, then you are guaranteed that you will be living longer and healthier lifestyles and it is important that we understand this. Not only must we find time and exercise away from school, but we must also do it there.”
As he did last week Monday when the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) partnered with the New Building Society to launch their second division competition, Dr Anthony said Government has put into the budget, $100M to assist with the upkeep of community grounds across the country.
“Clubs within the said communities can receive a grant ranging from $500 000 to $1M for such purposes and even schools who use the community grounds, can access the funds. All you have to do is apply for it,” said Dr Anthony.
Over 12 schools drawn from the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara, along with the Guyana Amateur Karate Federation (GAKF), National School of Dance and the Guyana Police Force, participated in yesterday’s event, in which Dr Anthony promised the schools present one football as a token of appreciation on behalf of the MCYS and NSC.
Director of Sport within the NSC, Neil Kumar, chaired the proceedings, while Permanent Secretary Alfred King, called on workers and managers to recognise the importance of the day, daily, putting aside some time to do physical activities in order to remain fit.
Following the brief remarks from Dr Anthony, Curtis McKenzie and his group from the daily television show Curtis Workout, took the participants through a warm-up routine, before physical displays were done by the Guyana Police Force, National School of Dance and the GAKF, while there was a parachute display from the Guyana Defence Force.