In recent times, health and wellness have become a global challenge, influenced by a myriad of circumstances.
In Kenya, there has been a huge conversation in this regard, with access to medical services top of the list.
To mitigate this, the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) has partnered with four medical organisations to ensure scribes access the highly-sought services.
The organisations are; House Of Dentistry, The Westlands Specialists Hospital, Restore & Renew and Holistic Weight Management Centre.
The four held a free health and wellness camp outside SJAK’s Nyayo National Stadium offices where over 80 sports scribes benefited from various medical tests. The Westlands Specialists tested scribes for prostate cancer, blood pressure as well as breast examination for ladies.
Restore & Renew created an awareness on mental wellness and how it influences the journalists’ day to day lives.
House of Dentistry, on their part, conducted dental checkups as well as offering Oral Health Awareness which entailed brushing techniques, dental flossing and the importance of balanced diet on dental health.
Holistic Weight Management conducted several checks on B.M.I., and indeed adviced scribes on tailored plans for weight gain and weight loss.
Director of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, Jackson Indakwa was among those who attended the medical camp as a friend of SJAK. Indakwa, on his part, highlighted that journalists play a pivotal role in highlighting athletes in the field of play, hence the need for health and wellness.
“I would like to take this opportunity to applaud the SJAK for organizing this event and the partners for giving us the optionality to know our health status, You know journalists do a lot of reporting on our athletes for the sports men and women, they report about the results in various competitions and do the necessary follow ups on our athletes during their active careers and sunset years and the issues of health are very key.” Indakwa said.
Dr. Nelly Otieno of Restore and Wellness, on her part noted:
“Every time we watch the news and sometimes as members of the public, the shock they that journalists go through while they are trying to cover the scenes, as mental health specialists we feel there is need for them to undergo mental wellness.We were able to support them (journalists ) mentally and looked at the levels of stress, and advice whether they need to see doctors or to be talked to.” John Mark, the Business Development Manager at Westlands Specialist Hospital said: “Today we conducted a campaign to ensure that the wellness of the journalists is well covered. The WSH is a level four facility in Westlands area, we have facilities like ICU and theaters.
Dr Mercy OIra, a resident Prosthodontics at House of Dentistry said: “it’s an exciting opportunity to just share any challenges of their teeth and advise them accordingly on what to do to get a remedy for that. Journalists are always on the front line when relaying the news and give us feedback about sports. We want journalists to smile and have confidence in their work stations.” Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) has adopted a wellness program to offer health education and how to identify health risks.
SJAK President James Waindi speaking during the event said the initiative is one of the many events held in helping members learn about health risks and indeed reduce healthcare costs. “Healthy and happy Journalists are usually more productive. Rolling out this concept that we conceived last year, will help lower risk of health problems,” explained Waindi. Waindi noted that future wellness programs for the Association will include webinars and training seminars conducted by medical professionals to sensitize sports scribes against lifestyle diseases. Waindi added that the wellness program is intended to offer rewards for achieving health-related goals.
