I Choose Healthy!
In 2009, CASA started a new program called “Choose Healthy” with the aim to help each one of us to have the necessary information, abilities, skills, and means to choose a healthy lifestyle. We rely on the power of education, which can orient people towards the right alimentation and physical activity.
Along with the people we support, we implement:
* Nutrition workshops
* Classes that promote physical activity such as Zumba, stretching, relaxation and conditioning exercises.
* Discussion and the creation of healthy Mexican recipes that provide high nutritional content.
* Information fairs related to health (which include weighing, measuring and nutritional diagnostics)
* Programs for community leaders with the objective of replicating the workshops they were given in their community.
* Community gardens.
* The sale of nutritious soy products.
* Educational theater presentations.
* The radio drama “The Secret of a Healthy Life”.
Some organizations that collaborate with “Choose Healthy”:
* Fundación Nutrición y Vida (Life and Nutrition Foundation)
Carries out the sale of nutritious soy products such as cookies, milk, chorizo, cheese, and tortillas at a low cost.
* Vía Orgánica
Organization that focuses on the cultivation and sales of organic produce.
* Rancho Toyan (Toyan Ranch):
Organization that focuses on the cultivation and sales of organic produce.
* Rancho la Trinidad (Ranch la Trinidad):
Organization that focuses on the cultivation and sales of organic produce.
* Comisión Municipal del Deporte y AtencióAtencion a la Juventud (COMUDAJ) (Municipal Sport and Attention for the Youth Comission)
Organization that provides support in the training of personnel in themes regarding physical activity.
Examples of our impact:
In less than 6 months of our involvement in the Rancho Nuevo de Banda and Rancho Viejo communities, 17.5 % of the 81 adolescents and 43.2% of the 135 women who were overweight have lost one to five kilograms of their weight, finding themselves motivated to continue their activities in “Choose Healthy”. In the test of applied knowledge that the CASA staff took in the nutrition and physical activity workshop, the score on the entry test was a low 4.2. By the end of the workshop, their score was a 7.8, an 86% increase in their knowledge.
Our future goals:
To have 500 more people become trained leaders on the themes of nutrition, physical activity and organic farming by 2011.
To have a “Choose Healthy” representative in 15 rural communities that will continue the programs activities independently in 2011.
To continue implementing and broadcasting the educational radio and theatre programs, so they can reach more and more people.
To produce and distribute organic seeds, so more people can have access to their own garden
Team leaders:
Lic. Lourdes Martínez Espinoza
Bachelor in Sports Administration
Lic. Oscar Martínez Gonzalez
Bachelor in Nutritional Science
escojosaludable@casa.org.mx
How you can help us:
Form a part of our team and become a volunteer.
Make a financial or material donation.
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Achievements to Date
* 119 C.A.S.A. staff members have been trained and are ready and enthusiastic to contribute to the wellbeing of the communities by passing on their knowledge on nutrition, physical activity and the planting of organic gardens.
* 672 leaders in various rural communities have been trained to promote nutritional health, physical activity and the planting of organic gardens.
* 706 people have participated in Zumba classes at least one time a week.
* 11 educational theater productions have been presented to 1050 people (children, youth, and adults).
* 24 radio-drama sessions have been broadcasted.
* Five community gardens have been planted, from which we have harvested cilantro, lettuce, zucchini, tomato, and other vegetables.
* 30 sessions on the elaboration of nutritional recipes have been conducted in the rural communities.
* At least 2,500 nutritional low-cost products from the Foundation Nutrition and Life have been sold including: 1,216 milk cartons, 587 yogurts, 325 cookie boxes, 150 cheese packages, 200 meat products, among others.
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