Itsekiri NextGen Project Session 5 Summary Report

The fifth session of the Itsekiri NextGen project was held on Saturday the 20th of November 2021. There were five volunteers and fifty four participants at the fifth session.

Time: 09:00 am – 12:30p pm 

Venue: Former Caravan 4, Aji Pessu, Warri

Main Topic: Healthy living 

Resource Person: Eworitsemogha Wyse

Summary of the session

This session introduces the benefit of a healthy lifestyle to the social wellbeing of our communities. This fully aligns with one of our core vision; which is to transform the social and cultural consciousness of next generation indigenes of Warri Kingdom. This has been inspired by the often ignored link between a socially and cultural vibrant society and a healthy population. 

Itsekiri NextGen Session 5 delivery 

The session began with a review of the previous session on “Social etiquette and dealing with challenges”. This was followed by an ice-breaking activity aimed at guiding the participants on how to perform various physical exercises. Demonstration of exercises such as jumping, press-up, jogging, stretching etc, were facilitated by one of the volunteers; Mr. Emmanuel Fregene.

This ice breaking activity/exercise was then explored to introduce the importance of exercise in developing a healthy lifestyle for the participants. Emphasis was also given to the role of regular exercises and healthy living on mental, emotional and physical health. The participants were also informed of the benefit of regular exercise to the long term health of the muscles and joints in their body.   

The second phase of the session started with a presentation on healthy living. Participants were made to know the importance of;

• taking a balanced diet.
• Avoiding the consumption of alcohol and smoking of cigarettes. This also included the risk or proximity to persons in the act of smoking cigarettes.
• Getting plenty of rest.
• Avoiding the intake of extraneous substances; that includes hard drugs and other addictive substances.

The relationship between being able to perform effectively in academics, in leadership, and in other aspects of our lives and a healthy lifestyle was also explained to the participants. Short videos and animations were also played to the participants to highlight and buttress the importance of healthy living. Following on from the video, the participants were then advised to;

• Wash their hands regularly especially on the back of COVID-19 pandemic.
• Always drink plenty of water.
• Sleep at least 10 hours a day (since majority of the participants are between the ages of 10-15 years) as it helps repair and recover the body, and relax the mind.
• Do their assignment on time so that it won’t take up their sleeping time.
• Try to do a lot of exercise with them being within the age to play frequently.
• Eat plenty of  grains and nuts.
• Eat fruits and vegetables of different colours.
• Minimise the time spent on screen and try to spend  some time physically connecting with friends.

The outcome of the activity of participants 

Participants partook in a naming activity for the types of fruits they like.

The participants took it upon themselves to do another round of physical exercise at the end of the session.

Additional Topic explored during the session:

New vocabularies were introduced to them.

Key lesson Learned:

The importance of exercise and living a healthy lifestyle on their social, emotional, mental and physical well being.