'Simply Healthy' campaign launched

MANILA, Philippines - Nutrition, women's health and environmental awareness  are three key issues that Philips Electronics and Lighting, Inc. (PELI) seeks to educate low-income families about through its "Simply Healthy" campaign.

 

Launched on Wednesday, it will have Matandang Balara in Quezon City as its pilot area. 

 

The campaign is being held in partnership with the Quezon City Vice Mayor’s Office, breast cancer awareness group I Can Serve, and environmental conservation group World Wildlife Fund.

 

"The 'Simply Healthy' campaign focuses on the three areas that we are strong at: eating, health care and lighting," Philips country manager Fabia Tetteroo-Bueno said, adding that they have chosen partners that share the company's "values and aspirations towards health care."

 

Philips has chosen Quezon City, for example, as the first area for its project because of the city's strong health programs.

 

"We are very excited to take part in Philips’ Simply Healthy program, and pleased that they have selected Brgy. Matandang Balara to be the pilot for their campaign.  With the support of government agencies such as the Department of Health, and advocacy groups I Can Serve and the World Wildlife Fund, we are confident that families from Brgy. Matandang Balara will benefit immensely from the sessions on proper nutrition and overall wellness," said Quezon City vice mayor Joy Belmonte who attended the launch along with I Can Serve founder Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala and WWF Philippines chairman and CEO Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan.

 

The "Simply Healthy" campaign will run for four months and will have four sessions.

 

The first session will focus on family nutrition and will be conducted with the help of Ruby D. Frane, RND, the Clinical Manager for the Food and Nutrition Department of St. Luke’s Medical Center. Here, participants will be taught lessons on proper food preparation, tips on healthy eating, a cooking demo, and a storytelling activity for children. It will run simultaneously with a medical and feeding program. 

 

The second session will focus on women's health and will be led by the I Can Serve group and the Department of Health. It will discuss breastfeeding,and the detection, recovery, and prevention of breast cancer.

 

The third session, which will focus on energy efficiency and climate change, will include discussions on waste segregation, and how to properly conserve electricity. Families will also be taught how to create a community vegetable garden, a project that will be supported by the Quezon City Vice Mayor’s Office.

 

The fourth and final session will involve the awarding of families who have shown the most improvement throughout the duration of the campaign. Tetteroo-Bueno said they will be awarded prizes.

 

"I'd really like to go back four months from now and see if the families we started working with have really learned the healthy way to eat, make their health checks,  and even use better lighting. Education is the most important thing. I want to see four months from now that they have learned something sustainable and hope that it continues when we leave," Tetteroo-Bueno said.