Young professionals claiming to be too busy to work out can begin cutting back on that particular excuse.
The Victoria Salamatu Adejo Foundation (VSAF) this month started its “monthly walk” for young professionals, taking busy working-class men and women through 10 kilometres of Abuja’s streets every second Saturday every month.
The VSAF monthly “health and wellness walk” doesn’t just promise sweat, it also guarantees volunteer doctors after the walk to run free blood pressure and sugar tests and offer free medical advice—anything from making lifestyle changes to stopping all that late night drinking and from eating better to taking better care of their health.
The Foundation is concerned about a growing trend of sudden deaths striking among young working professionals; it lost three members all aged under 50 in recent times.
The walk is to encourage “the culture of health and wellness among young professionals who are often too busy pursuing their careers to the detriment of their physical wellbeing,” said VSAF executive secretary Chris Tion, during the inaugural in Abuja.
The foundation itself is named after Victoria Salamatu Adejo, a philanthropist who died in 2011.
Her friends and family set it up to immortalise her for her inspiration, devotion to caring for the needy and vulnerable.
They call it a means of furthering the good causes she pursued.
“VSAF vision is to create a world were widows and other vulnerable children like orphans would live a life of well being and happiness, but we conceived of this walk as a proactive measure to help people live healthy lives which will most probably reduce the rising incidences of deaths especially among young professionals and ultimately give us less to worry about,” said Tion.
The walk begins at 6am every second Saturday on Anthony Enahoro street in Utako and goes a total 10km through streets in Jabi district before circling back to the start point.
Ene Abu-Obe a medical doctor and a VSAF volunteer who participated in the inaugural walk is hopeful the walk, with more people joining up, will increase awareness about healthy lifestyle choices.
