Blog Tag: health & wellbeing
International Day of Happiness
Posted by Peter MUIR
In 2012 the United Nations established March 20 as the International Day of Happiness. People are now recognising that ‘progress’ should be about increasing human happiness and wellbeing, not just growing the economy.
What could you do to help make the people around you happy? How might you investigate, prepare and then act on this topic?
Each year Live Happy runs a a campaign to spread happiness around the globe. Take a look at their website for ideas of how you might get involved. Other ideas can be found on the Day of Happiness website, provided by Action for happiness.
Let’s create a happier world together!
Community Journalism Project
Posted by Peter MUIR
Elephant Community Press is hosting a community journalism project and would like to invite DC students to apply to get involved!
ECP is offering a writing and photojournalism project that will help share stories about the lives and businesses of local Hong Kong food producers. Despite being a highly-urbanized city, Hong Kong is still home to local farms and producers of traditional products such as soya sauce and Chinese noodles. The project will involve interviewing and visiting different stakeholders, including farmers and traditional food producers, as well as NGOs, social enterprises, and chefs who are committed to sourcing food locally.
It provides an excellent opportunity to those interested in writing, especially those who are interested in or keen to get involved in journalism.
A maximum of 12 students, ages 15-17, will be selected from a variety of different schools, both local and international, to collaborate on a community journalism project. Preference is for students with bilingual English/Cantonese skills, with Chinese writing skills also an asset, but English-only students will also be considered.
The project will run from February-April with the final exhibition at the end of April/early May. I’ve attached a description of the project and the application form. As a community project, this workshop is offered at no cost to the participating students, but they must cover their own transportation costs to the workshop sessions and are asked to contribute $500 towards the exhibition costs. Applicants can also apply to ECP for a program subsidy for the exhibition cost.
The project will run from February – April 2017. It will involve a 9-week course for 2 hours/week (Mondays 5:00-7:00pm in Pottinger Street, Central) plus 2 on-site visits and 2 on-site interviews to be scheduled with your partner. Application deadline is 27th January.
HKRU Medical Team opportunity
Posted by Peter MUIR
HKRU is offering an opportunity for ESF school students to gain valuable first aid training and on-field experience with their medical team.
Participating students will have a chance to become trained in sports first aid, and will have the chance to put their skills and knowledge into practice by acting as medical staff at various rugby games and tournaments with the HKRU’s medical team. It is hoped that students will be able to use this experience and form their own school ‘First Aid Team’ that will provide first aid cover at school events, including rugby games of course.
This is a great opportunity for any students interested in pursuing a sports science or medical career, as they will meet and integrate with our multidisciplinary team of sports scientists, conditioning coaches, physiotherapists, dieticians, doctors, nurses and paramedics.
Click on the forms below for more details.
hkru-medical-team-cas-opportunity-for-esf-students-2016-2017
Sunshine Action food packing
Posted by Peter MUIR
Sunshine action is looking for volunteers to support its food distribution programme. During September and October the organisation will distribute over 3000 Food bags for the less privileged and elderly in Hong Kong through at least 30 local centers. This is estimated to directly benefit over 6,000 people.
Volunteers are needed for food packing this coming Saturday September 3, between 8:30am – 12:30noon.
The venue for food packing is the Buddhist Lim Kim Tian Memorial Primary School, Kwai Fong Estate, Kwai Chung (five minutes from Kwai Fong MTR A exit)
If you wish to get involved you must email sunshine@sunshine-action.org or call +852 68884028
Foam Run Success
Posted by Peter MUIR
Pictured above (far right) is DC student Aashman Vyas (11R), who was a member of the organising team for the recent ‘Foam Run’ event. The Foam Run, a 5km un-timed race where participants were faced with walls of foam, was developed by a group of students representing different secondary schools in Hong Kong. The group got together to organise the event after a collective concern of the growing rates of the cases of type two diabetes in people aged below 19, which has increased tenfold in the last decade with little research is being done in Hong Kong to find new treatments.
Approximately twenty-five thousand dollars was raised in the event, with all of these proceeds being donated to the Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity (HKIDO), an institute based in the Chinese University of Hong Kong that researches new approaches to diabetes care.
Well done to Aashman and his team!
Taking action – improve health & wellbeing
Posted by Peter MUIR
Are you interested in employment in medicine or healthcare? Do you care about the world’s health challenges?
If so, then perhaps you could focus on taking action to help improve health and wellbeing, and help take steps towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Hunger and Nutrition), 3 (Good Health), and 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation). Some ideas include:
- Create an awareness campaign aimed at improving nutrition and an understanding of issues with food security
- Encourage healthy eating and exercise to fight obesity
- Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation
- Promote healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
What other ‘global goals’ could you get involved in addressing?
Mother’s Choice
Posted by Peter MUIR
Located next to the fellow ESF school, Island School, Mother’s Choice is a local Hong Kong charity established in 1987. Over the past 28 years, they’ve assisted 51,000 young females through troubling pregnancies, and placed 3,600 children into suitable foster care, as well as connected 1,400 of them with permanent loving parents. They link young couples to professional health care services and support and provide access to educational programs and counseling to learn about sexual health and education.
If you are interested in participating, through means of raising awareness, advocacy, donating or direct service through volunteering, visit Mother’s Choice website or email volunteers@motherschoice.org for further details and enquiries.
KELY Support group
Posted by Peter MUIR
KELY Support group is a non-governmental organization that provides confidential support to both international and local youth of 14-24 years old in Hong Kong. Fostering a positive community with methods of help and guidance stemming from peer support, KELY actively aims to cultivate the next generation of leaders through social programs that target social, communication and self development.
If you would like to support KELY, feel free to fill in this form in order to receive the latest volunteering opportunities (aka subscribe to them!). KELY is always looking for enthusiastic volunteers and is open to all ages, ethnicities, and talents.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to initiate a CAS activity of your own- feel free to recruit a few friends and start your OWN fundraising for KELY here! Collaborating with friends and initiating such event is a great way to boost your planning, communication and cooperation skills!
Happiness Project Instagram challenge
Posted by Peter MUIR
As a part of their ‘Happiness Project’ some Year 10 students are organising an Instagram challenge. In order to participate, you must post a photo on Instagram of you with a piece of paper with either: why you choose to be kind, what makes you smile, a kindness statistic or something you can do to be kind, written on it. Tag a few people and use the hashtag, #spreadthesmilesig. By tagging other people, you are challenging them to then post their own picture with words related to happiness.
The Happiness Project
Posted by Peter MUIR
A message from Year 10 students, whose Community Engagement project goal is – happiness in DC!
Over the course of next week, we will be handing out ‘Smile Cards’ to each Secondary Learning Team. The smile cards are small laminated cards that will travel around the school. If you receive a smile card, it is your responsibility to perform a small act of kindness. Our goal for the smile cards is to create more healthy relationships between students, and not necessarily your best friends, or even someone in your year level. Our aim is for everyone in Secondary to have received the card at least once.
We will also start an Instagram challenge. In order to participate, you must post a photo on Instagram of you with a piece of paper with either: why you choose to be kind, what makes you smile, a kindness statistic or something you can do to be kind, written on it. Tag a few people and use the hashtag, #spreadthesmilesig. The people that are tagged should do the same. This part of our project doesn’t have to be strictly Secondary.
Stay tuned for more information
