Amrita Vidyalayam Thrissur inaugurated its Health Club on the 13th of July, 2009. Health is defined as a state of physical and mental well being. Knowledge begets confidence and from confidence arises a sound mind. This mental aspect is cultivated by Amrita as soon as a child joins the Amrita family.

The guests on stage.

Releasing the health card….

Intending to extend this state of well being into the physical level as well, Amrita Vidyalayam Thrissur has initiated a Health Club. Doctors, Health officers and nutritionists address the children in camps conducted by the club. The club aims to impress a healthy lifestyle and dieting habits in the students mind.

Rather than just imparting an awareness of the various diseases and the habits that may contribute to contracting them, the club also has long term reforms on its agenda. As a case in point, the club aims to inform the children regarding the harmful use of plastic cups and utensils, explaining that when plastic ware is used over a long period of time, it can be toxic to the human body and the environment as well.

All ears….

Just some years back people were using earthen cups and utensils for cooking as well as for eating. These earthen ware were reused, unlike the plastic ware that we toss after using once, and even if the earthen ware happened to break, it didn’t’t cause any harmful effects to the body and the environment.

At present, the practice is such that each person uses plastic containers and disposes of them after a single use. This enormous consumption of plastics has given rise to issues of safe disposal and to the dumping of highly toxic materials into the environment. Toxic materials invariably get mixed up with the water supply and interfere with agriculture and poison whole biological systems. This has resulted in the weakening of plants, live stock and a loss of nutrition.

Waiting for their turn….

Eye check up in progress….

Keeping these concerns in mind, the Health Club works in tandem with Green Friends, a club devoted to increasing the greenery of its surroundings while working to reduce the pollution of the environment.

Expert guidance— Dr. Vineetha at work….

The guests of the day were Ms.Jayashree, Deputy Collector, Thrissur, and Mr.V. Diwakaran, District Medical Officer, Thrissur.
Dr.Vineetha, from Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, oversaw and conducted the medical checkups and also addressed the students on basic health practices to be followed for a disease free life.

After the inauguration ceremony, a team of doctors from Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Ernakulam, examined the students. Many tests, whatever possible away from a hospital, were conducted. These included the checking of the student’s body mass ratio, sense of hearing, sight, and blood pressure.

The club also takes on the task of maintaining Health Cards for each and every student of the school. On this card the height, weight, details of any defects in sight, and the general health condition of the student is recorded during each medical examination. This card serves the ready purpose of tracking a child’s medical history in case of any need in future. Knowing these past details make a doctor’s work easier in treating a disease that may be contracted in future.

Checking the Blood pressure….

Reaching for excellence in all aspects, the Health Cub Inauguration was one more step in this direction by Amrita Vidyalayam Thrissur.