Scores of BUSE staff members and their families refreshed their bodies and minds at the annual Wellness Day held at the Mount Darwin Campus sports grounds on the 8th of July 2016.
The purpose of the day was to establish a work environment that promotes healthy lifestyles, decrease the risk of disease, and enhance the quality of life.
A variety of programmes were lined up for the day which included sporting activities, health promotion presentations and physical exercises.
The various university campuses competed against each other in sporting disciplines such as basketball, volley-ball, five-aside soccer, darts, chess and tug-of-war.
The Faculty of Science Education (FSE) Campus emerged the overall winner after clinching 9 gold and 2 silver medals. The Main Campus teams came 2nd, scooping 3 gold and 10 silver medals, while the combined Astra and Town Campus teams trailed with 7 bronze medals. The teams were rewarded with trophies and a variety of consolation prizes for their efforts.
Speaking on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, Prof Eddie Mwenje, the Director of Virtual and Open Distance Learning, Mrs Unity Chipunza said that employee wellness and health were a major concern of the university. She added that a team that is of good physical and mental health was guaranteed to live up to the vision and mission of the university.
The Guest of Honour at the occasion was the renowned emergency physician Dr Vivek Solanki. He said that wellness was not merely the absence of illness but it was more about a person’s lifestyle and taking charge of the choices they make to stay healthy. Dr Solanki urged the members present to adopt healthy lifestyles and shun substance abuse as it would not ease problems but instead worsened them.
The event received overwhelming support from a number of corporate organizations which provided health related services free of charge.
According to the World Health Organisation, there are many benefits of workforce health promotion such as increased productivity and improved staff morale.
