PHOTO:L to R: Business man Hubert Pantophlet, Secretary General a.i. Economic Affairs Mr. Miguel de Weever, Executive Director Chamber of Commerce Mr. Claret Connor, Professor Trevor Hassel, Minister Cornelius de Weever, Business man Mr. Danny Ramchandani, Retired Judge Wilfred Manning, Police Major Steven Carty and Business man Mr. Michael Ferrier.
On Wednesday March 20, 2013 the Rotary Club of St Martin Sunrise hosted a panel discussion on Men’s Health under the theme "MENTAKE CHARGE GET CHECKED!" at the Divi Little Bay Resort.
The event, which was organized in collaboration with the Positive Foundation, and Collective Prevention Services Department of the Ministry of Health, aimed to bring awareness about health issues affecting men.
Master of Ceremony was Rotary Club of St Martin Sunrise Men’s Health Committee Chair, Mr. Claret Connor, while Professor Dr. Trevor Hassel, President Healthy Caribbean Coalition moderated the discussions.
The panelists for this event were well known members of the community; namely Mr. Michael Ferrier, Mr. Danny Ramchandani, Mr. Miguel de Weever, Major Steven Carty, Former Judge Wilfred Manning and Mr. Hubert Pantophlet. The panel discussions and sharing derived from their personal experiences, which made a real impact as expressed by the audience of mostly men.
Personal experiences and discussions such as, dealing with the realization of being diagnosed with; prostate cancer, being borderline diabetic, as well as understanding the difference of one being physically fit versus being in good health. One of the panelist shared of procrastinating about seeing his physician even when his body was speaking to him, indicating possible health problems for years. Another shared of how one can deal with the daily high stressed levels of life through spiritually centered focus exercises. These points were among the many that were shared and discussed by men from all walks of our society during this panel discussion.
Minister of Health, Labor and Social Affairs, Honorable Dr. Cornelius de Weever was also present to address an audience of predominantly men, during which he encouraged healthier lifestyles decisions.
The committee chair, Mr. Connor stated that "it is clear that recognizing and preventing men’s health problems is not just a man’s issue, but also a family issue and consequently a societal issue. It therefore behooves a collective community approach in getting involved in healthier lifestyle changes."
This event is the first of a series of events planned for 2013, which the aforementioned organizations will focus on in the area of Men’s health in our community.
