ARUSHA GYMKHANA CLUB INITIATIVE TO FIGHT LIFESTYLE DISEASES

A social club based here, Arusha Gymkhana Club, has come with an idea on how to fight lifestyle diseases.

lt will construct  a walking track around its vast Golf Course for its members to keep them physically fit.

"Lifestyle-related diseases are a challenge to the community. One way to fight them is through physical exercises", said Victor Manzi, the new President of the Club.

He said the club, formed in the 1930s, was upbeat on promoting health through  increased exercises apart from sports.

A walking lane on the sidelines of the Gymkhana ground would enable the club members make a 10km healthy walk a day.

The fight against lifestyle or non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is among the work plans of the club's new leadership.

Other projects include major facelift of the club's main building and other facilities on the leafy suburb of Arusha city.

Lifestyle diseases or NCDs such as cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes have lately become a major threat in Tanzania.

Many of them are largely attributed to lifestyles although some are passed on in families, partly because  many people do not engage in exercise.

Other risk factors for NCDs include unhealthy eating of fatty and other foods, excessive consumption of alcohol and cigarette smoking.

All these can lead to heart disease, stroke, obesity and type II diabetes, all of which appear to increase in frequency globally.

Mr. Manzi said the club premises will undergo a major facelift that will cost millions of shillings to be raised by the members and well wishers.

This would be a second major upgrading of the club building in the past decade, the last carried out between 2009 and 2012 at the cost of Sh. 850million.

The new structures then included a new club house, changing rooms,

swimming pool, snooker room, sports court, gym and paved car park.

Two new restaurants for Chinese and Indian cuisines were opened within

the premises as was refurbishment or revival of run down sports facilities.

Facelifting, upgrading and modernisation of the club premises

is often realized through contributions from the members, sponsors and well wishers.

According to Mr. Manzi, the proposed civil works this time around will include upgrading an array of facilities, including the bar, restaurant and sports facilities.

Currently, the Arusha Gymkhana Club has about 200 members following a sharp decline from about 350 ten years ago.

Efforts are underway to recruit more members from within and around Arusha by reaching out potential members in the corporate institutions and changing the narrative that it was a club for the exclusive.