First Time at AUW, A Week Dedicated to Health Promotion
Aziza Roshani and Ugyen Lhamo
Health Promotion Week (HPW) was a week-long program held from September 23rd to September 27th at 20 G Rooftop. This program was initiated to raise awareness about different ways to live a healthy lifestyle. It was organized by the Student Experience Committee, headed by Professor Mollah, the Head of Math and Science Department, in collaboration with Residential Life and Office of Student Activities. Professor Mollah said that Mrs.Tapu Baru, the Executive Officer to the Vice Chancellor, proposed the idea for the program. The program incorporated a wide range of activities including presentations by different speakers and a showcase of Physical Education conducted by Maria Chakraborty, the Physical Education Instructor of the campus. The highlights of the event were two competitions, the food competition, and the poster presentation. Contestants from all academic levels took part in the competitions, and the winners won a round-trip flight ticket from Dhaka to Bangkok.
Jigmey Gyalmo, an Access student from Bhutan, was the winner of the poster presentation. She expressed her gratitude, saying that it was a great chance to present her art in front of a large audience and get recognition for her work. The food competition was won by a group of UG2 students from Bangladesh: Monica Chowdhury, Atqia Alamgir, and Rokaiya Mahammuda. Although the group was happy with the overall experience, at the same time they found it quite challenging due to time conflicts with their classes.
There was also a major concern regarding the process of blood donation during the program, which was organised by Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. Four students, who had previous experience donating blood, commented on the lack of pre-screening. According to American Red Cross Blood Services, before blood donation, the health history and status quo of the donor is asked in a confidential interview, and temperature, pulse, blood pressure and hemoglobin levels are checked. But the students interviewed stressed that these protocols were not implemented, and said they were nervous when they donated their blood. The Echo couldn’t interview the organizer to confirm the story, but the concerns of the blood donors should be addressed fairly next time.
Since the HPW was held for the first time, Professor Mollah acknowledged the challenges such as time conflict and management, but in the end, the program was a success due to the team effort and participation of the AUW students. When asked about the possibility of the event being an Annual AUW Program, he said that they are considering it. He hopes that in the future they can better prepare for the HPW and also collaborate with other universities as well.
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