BAPS Charities held an interactive community health fair on Sunday 26 July 2015 at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Birmingham. The programme was supported by a number of charities and organisations, including Anthony Nolan, the British Heart Foundation, Bowel Cancer UK, Gateway, and Health Exchange. More than 190 people attended.
A key objective of the event was to consolidate the extensive health awareness activities that are undertaken for the local community in the West Midlands by BAPS Charities throughout the year, and to convey important messages of safe and healthy living.
Health screenings, seminars, workshops, exhibitions and information stands were available throughout the day, and included the following:
▪ Blood Pressure Screening
▪ Cholesterol Screening
▪ Body Fat, Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference Screening
▪ Cardiovascular Assessment
▪ Dietary Advice
▪ Diabetes Care
▪ CPR Demonstrations and Hands-On Training
▪ Cancer Awareness, Prevention and Screening
▪ Bone Marrow Donation Recruitment
▪ Health and Well-Being for the Elderly
▪ Heart Health
▪ Maternal and Children’s Health Awareness
▪ Dementia Awareness
▪ Medicines Advice and Education
▪ Keeping an Active and Healthy Mind
Guests present at the Fair included Cllr Barry Bowles of Birmingham City Council, PC Paul Coates and PCSO Rebecca Stone from West Midlands Police, as well as Qaim Zaidi, BME Project Manager for the British Heart Foundation.
Qaim Zaidi presented BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir with a Gold Award as part of the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Social Cooking Project’ and spoke of his positive experiences and the specific benefits for members of the community through this project and the Health Fair.
Over 100 people participated in the cardiovascular health check-up, which involved a blood pressure reading, body mass index, waist circumference, body fat measurement and glucose blood test. In addition, 35 children and adults undertook practical CPR training.
A member of the local community mentioned how he had benefitted from the event. “I was delighted because I wasn’t actually going to get my sugar level checked, but then I decided to come by here. They found that it was high so I’m going to go to my doctors now to get it checked out.”
One young child mentioned that she found the day useful because she learned that she “should not eat too much sugar”.
Nick Jakowiw, a representative from Bowel Cancer UK, shared his appreciation of BAPS Charities volunteers. He said: “It’s great to see so many people giving up their time to look after their community in the way that BAPS does.”
Richard McKenzie, a Gateway health trainer, added: “I felt that the event today was very well run and well attended.”
