Situated in an agro-estate "Generous hare", the participants visited the Seletskoe reservoir, and the next morning, active preparations began for the holiday “For health - the whole family” at the school in the agricultural town of Selets. At the grand opening of the event, everyone was sincerely greeted by the chairman of the local village council, Vladimir Nikolaevich Khilko, the director of the Seletskaya school, Alexander Vasilyevich Shimchuk, and the chairman of the non-profit organization “Invalid and Environment”, the head of the initiative, Ivan Vasilyevich Shmyga.
...And now a whole range of events has started, dedicated to the eight basics of a healthy lifestyle. Children of different ages comprehended its simple principles in a form accessible to them. For example, the youngest schoolchildren took part in classes with the musical title “Bells of Health,” and students in grades 3–5 received up-to-date knowledge at a children’s health exhibition.
It is noteworthy that parents were also present at the holiday, so the fun health relay for middle-aged children turned into a family competition. Father Nikolai, to the delight of his son and all the children, was awarded the award and certificate “For the will to win.” High school students completed tasks on bicycles, demonstrating dexterity and ability to control their two-wheeled friend.
The holiday turned out to be unforgettable, its young participants learned a lot of useful information and promised to apply the acquired knowledge in life, because being healthy, as they learned, is really important.
The next stop of the cycling marathon was the village of Narutovichi. Thanks to the initiative of the school director Irina Anatolyevna Vorobyova, the bicycle competitions were a breeze! In a friendly atmosphere, the fans sincerely worried about each participant and tried to support those lagging behind. The organizers of the marathon, as a sign of gratitude for the warmth of the welcome, invited me to go to the city. Kossovo competition winners Lyubov Rygal and Egor Tarasevich together with their parents. And during the relay race at Kossovo secondary school, Lyuba, despite the difficulty of the route, again won the championship! During this journey, she made friends with ten disabled children and became a real member of the team.
Nikolai Sidorchuk, a disabled person of the first group, and volunteer Ilya Moroz became especially close during this time. Together they had to overcome many difficulties of camping life, but healthy humor and mutual understanding helped the guys become good partners and overcome all obstacles. During the cycling marathon, Nikolai even decided to quit smoking. The whole team was very happy about this, because the right decision, once made, is the key to success.
– The cycling marathon brought us all together very much. It’s not easy when there are people with physical disabilities next to you in the group, because you can’t get ahead - you always need to be there, you need to help! – said Evgeniy Semenovich, a graduate of the “Leader of Healthy Lifestyle” camp and volunteer of the BMOOO “Disabled and Environment”. – I needed support both on the road and in working with children... It’s interesting to be a volunteer. You not only learn a lot of new things, but also learn to work in a team. I also like to share useful knowledge with people, because I myself try to lead a healthy lifestyle.
At the last stage of the cycling marathon in school No. 3 in Zhabinki, a team of volunteers worked as a single organism. Everyone clearly knew their job, was ready to help, to lend a shoulder in difficult moments. Teachers and students appreciated the high level of the event, thanked the organizers, expressed a desire to also lead a healthy lifestyle and follow in practice the advice and recommendations that they heard.
Over the course of several days, a total of about 340 children took part in all the quizzes, competitions and health exhibitions conducted by the volunteers of the Disabled and Environment Foundation.
At the end, the team visited the Kossovo Castle, the T. Kosciuszko Museum, and the final meeting at the agro-estate “Fronopol Settlement” summed up the four-day work of the group of activists.
The cycling marathon was organized by the non-profit organization “Disabled and Environment” in within the framework of the implementation of the initiative “Inclusive Center for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyle” of the project “Prevention of non-communicable diseases, promotion of a healthy lifestyle and support for the modernization of the healthcare system in the Republic of Belarus” (“BELMED”), funded by the European Union, co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the framework of the Polish Development Cooperation program and implemented by UNDP, WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA in partnership with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus.