HEALTH PROMOTION FOR HEALTHY LIFE
Health
can be defined as optimum physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and
intellectual health. Health promotion is the science or art of helping people
change their lifestyle to move towards a state of optimal health. Lifestyle
change can be facilitated through a combination of efforts to increase
awareness, change behavior, and create environments that support good health
practices.
Need for health promotion
There
are five main reasons for a particular health promotion focus on young people. Health
behaviours in youth continue into adult life. One of the most compelling
arguments for a focus on adolescent health is that adolescence is a time when
new health behaviours are laid down—behaviours that track into adulthood and
will influence health and morbidity throughout life. Health behaviours in
childhood are dominated by parental instruction and shared family values. During
adolescence young people begin to explore alternative or “adult” health
behaviours, including smoking, drinking alcohol, drug misuse, violence, and sexual
intimacy. The continuity of these behaviours into adulthood is well documented.
Health
behaviours relating to exercise and food are also laid down in adolescence and
track into adult life. Adolescent obesity predicts adult obesity, which is
strongly and independently predictive of cardiovascular risk, and cardiovascular
risk in young adulthood is highly related to the degree of adiposity as early
as age 13 years. Evidence also shows that health in adolescence can have a
considerable impact on the development of adult conditions. This evidence
challenges earlier notions that adolescents moving into adulthood “grow out of
” health risk behaviours and mental health problems.
Immediate effects of adolescent
health behaviours
Adolescent
health behaviours have a direct effect on immediate as well as long term health
outcomes and quality of life—for example, taking exercise, engaging in risky
sexual behavior (resulting in sexually transmitted infections or teenage pregnancy),
and using the roads safely.
Worrying trends in morbidity and
mortality
Adolescent
mortality and morbidity show worrying trends in national priority areas, such
as mental health (for example, male suicide rates), sexual health (teenage
pregnancies), and cardiovascular risk (such as obesity and diabetes). Earlier engagement
in sexual activity, high rates of teenage pregnancy, and the threat of HIV have
similarly focused attention on adolescents. Given the evidence on the
continuity of health risk behaviours in adolescence into adulthood, morbidity
trends in adolescence argue strongly for urgent attention to adolescents’ health
and for the development of targeted, adolescent specific interventions.
Developmental issues
Dynamic
and continued development in every aspect of a young person’s life during
adolescence means that young
By: Lekey Khandu, le_khandu@yahoo.com.sg
Tshogpa Salary
Village Tshogpa Attending the GT Metting
The recent pay hike by the parliament doesn’t make much difference to Tshogpas (Member of the Gewog Tshogdey) of the local government institution. Although Tshogpa seems to be having no work in the village but in reality, the Tshogpa does almost all the ground work in their respective Chewogs under the direction of Gewog Administration and GT. He is the overall head of the Chewog and is mandated to perform the task of manager, coordinator and messenger. Moreover, Tshogpa has an important task of chairing the Chewog meeting for any developmental activities including the social problems. Moreover, he is mandated to propose the agenda to GT after consultation with the Chewog Public.
The precious time of Tshogpas are mostly wasted as a messenger, organizing events in the gewog, looking after the developmental activities in their respective Chewogs and attending meetings organized by the Gewog Administration. Thus Tshogpas lose their valuable time in their farming activities.
The current pay of Tshogpa is just Nu. 2000/- which is not even equivalent to the National workforce wage. Although it will be huge burden for the government to raise the salary of the Tshogpas because they are large in number. However, they deserved to be paid well if government wants to build a stable and sound local government.
By: Lekey Khandu, le_khandu@yahoo.com.sg
The precious time of Tshogpas are mostly wasted as a messenger, organizing events in the gewog, looking after the developmental activities in their respective Chewogs and attending meetings organized by the Gewog Administration. Thus Tshogpas lose their valuable time in their farming activities.
The current pay of Tshogpa is just Nu. 2000/- which is not even equivalent to the National workforce wage. Although it will be huge burden for the government to raise the salary of the Tshogpas because they are large in number. However, they deserved to be paid well if government wants to build a stable and sound local government.
By: Lekey Khandu, le_khandu@yahoo.com.sg
The Largest and tallest Lord Buddha Statue in the world.
After the construction of the 169-feet bronze statue of Buddha Dordena, at the Kuensel Phodrang in Changbangdu, overlooking the capital city. The statue is supposed to be the world’s largest and tallest lord Buddha statue. The kuensel Phodrang is located some 100 meters above the Thimphu Chu (river) on the slope.
The ambitious project is being initiated by the chairman of the Menjong Chhothuen Tshogpa, Lam Tsheing Wangdi to commemorate the hundred years of Monarchy in 2007. The Lam Tshering Wangdi initiated the project based on the prophecy of the Lam Sonam Zangpo, renowned yogi. The yogi said to him that the construction of such statue in the region will bring stability, peace and prosperity in the country.
The statue is expected to be a major pilgrimage centre and a focal point for Buddhists all over the world to converge, practice, meditate and retreat.
According to the sources the statue will have enough space to house 17 storeys of different Lhakhangs (temples). The throne itself will house three storeys and two each inside the lotus, waist, chest, face and shoulder and one each in the legs, neck and head.
The first two storeys are filled with 25,000 images of 12-inch Buddha Dordenma made of copper and gilded in gold. While the first storey, which surrounds the center, will house eight 10-feet standing bodhisattvas, the miracle sons of Buddha Shakyamuni. The second storey surrinding the cventere pillar will have 10-feet sitting Medicinal Buddhas. The third storey inside the lotus seat will have six-feet high 16 arahats, king Hashang (maitreya Bodhisttva), Dharmata Toger, Sutra Holder and the four direction Kings. The main Buddha Shakyamuni will be seated in the centre. The rooms from the third storey till the top will accommodate 100,000 statues of eight-inch Buddha Dordenma made of copper and gilded in gold placed in multi-layered grid-boxes.
Besides many local donars for the project a Singaporean businessman, Rinchen Peter Teo, is the main sponsor of the project.
By: Lekey Khandu, le_khandu@yahoo.com.sg
