15,000 gather for health walk at Royal College.
Grand event ends days proceeding on a high.

Royal College has always been on the forefront when it comes to innovation and introducing new concepts to society. Yet another one of these grand ventures: HEARTBEAT ’15 came to a close on Saturday, the 24th October with a massive walk, followed by a gathering at the College Main Grounds graced by the Head of State himself.

HEARTBEAT ’15 was initiated by the UNESCO Club of Royal College with the vision of “Developing a healthy young generation in Sri Lanka through health education and developing good health practices and attitudes at school level.  The main factor which made this project stand out amongst others of its kind is that the project was lead by students trained by professionals in the field of medicine and nutrition. It was the first of its kind organized by an educational institution in the country.

HEARTBEART’15 kicked off with a creative publicity campaign to communicate important messages to school students under three main themes: “The Importance of Water”, “Eating Healthy Food”, and “abstaining from the consumption of Tobacco and Alcohol”.  Student Leaders at Royal College and other Schools in the Colombo Zone were trained by professionals from local and international organizations such as the GMOA, NATA, WHO and UNICEF at ToT sessions on the 30th of September, 01st and 02nd of October the mission of which, was to Empower School Children to champion healthy living and act as catalysts to bring about healthy changes in society.

This massive undertaking culminated with the HEARTBEAT ’15 walk on the 24th of October. It saw the participation of  the President, His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena accompanied by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, Members of the Cabinet, Parliamentarians, the Commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force,  Olympic Silver Medalist Susanthika Jayasinghe and other Celebrities which included renowned singers, actors etc. The walk commenced at 7.00 am at the Green Path. Teachers, Parents and Students representing various Sports, Clubs, Societies and Classes from Royal College and other invited schools making up a total of approximately 15,000 individuals joined in. An informative booklet containing important tips and guidelines for living a healthy lifestyle published in Sinhalese, Tamil and English was distributed to all those who took part once the walk reached its end at the Royal College Main Grounds.

The Principal, Mr. Upali Gunasekara welcomed the gathering at the ceremony held afterwards. This was followed by a speech by the President. In his speech, His Excellency, who was formerly the Hon. Minister of Health, expressed his views on the three main themes under which HEARTBEAT ’15 was organized and what he believes should be done to inculcate a healthy lifestyle among the student population in the country.

Following the formalities, the day came to a close with a variety of entertainment, courtesy a number of well known Celebrities who took part and students of College. Stalls distributing healthy food and drink products were made available to the crowd at the grounds.