THE 100 BLACK MEN OF LONDON IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE

THE LAUNCH OF ITS

HEALTH & WELLNESS PROGRAMME 2012

“Disease and disasters come and go like rain, but health is like the sun that illuminates the entire village.”

Kenyan Luo Proverb

YOUR MIND & BODY ARE ALREADY INCREDIBLY POWERFUL

BUT COULD YOU MAKE THEM EVEN HEALTHIER?

CLICK HERE FOR OUR HEALTH & WELLNESS QUESTIONNAIRE

IF WE ASK YOU TO TAKE THE QUESTIONNAIRE AGAIN AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WILL YOU BE ABLE TO SHOW IMPROVEMENT?

"Health & Wellness" is one of the key strategic focal areas of the 100 Black Men of London. It is one of what we call our 'Four for the Future', namely Mentoring, Education, Economic Empowerment and Health & Wellness.

Coinciding with the positive energy and enthusiasm to be generated with the London 2012 Olympics, the 100 Black Men of London is proud to present its Health & Wellness Programme 2012.

Through a series of events and activities, surveys and assessments, educational programmes and through utilising social media and a range of other tools at our disposal, the 100 Black Men of London shall focus on achieving its Health & Wellness (H&W) objectives for the year, namely:

• To educate parents and children on Health & Wellness related issues affecting the Black community in particular and society in general;

• To measurably improve the overall levels of Health & Wellness of the parents and children participating in our programme over the course of the year;

• To positively contribute to raising the awareness of Health and Wellness issues affecting the Black community and establishing links with other community groups to achieve this.

The specific topics and issues we shall be focusing on include:

• Prostate Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Sickle Cell Disease
• Nutrition
• Diabetes
• Mental Health
• Bone Marrow Donation
• Fitness & Activie Living
• Cardiovascular diseases

Each Month will be dedicated to a particular Health & Wellness related issue (March is Prostate Cancer Month; April is Nutrition Month).

We will send out a Guide at the beginning of each month and ask you to take a simple 10 question questionnaire to test the level of your knowledge and awareness. We will invite you to do health check ups so you know your own state of Health & Wellness.

In October we will be hosting a one day Health & Wellness Conference featuring debates, workshops, seminars and interactive activities all focused on topical issues of Health & Wellness.

Our annual Black Heroes Walk will be held to coincide with the Olympics

Our Family Fun Day will be themed as a Family Health & Wellness Sports Day

Finally, at the end of the year, we shall be presenting a report, setting out what we have learned of the state of the Health & Wellness of our community, what impact this is having and what steps we can all take to make improvements.

The impact of poor Health & Wellness in life is often severely underestimated. Likewise, the benefits of good Health & Wellness are numerous and often wide ranging.

Join us in 2012 to make this year a positive and health one for our youth, ourselves and our community.

enquiries: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; 0870 121 4100

Health & Wellness Calendar 2012

13/02/2012 Online Launch of H&W programme

25/02/2012 H&W Assessment Day for our Community Mentoring Programme

01/03/2012 Launch of Prostate Cancer Month

26/03/12 – 30/03/12 Prostate Cancer Check Up Week

01/04/2012 Launch of Nutrition Month

01/05/2012 Launch of Diabetes Month

05/05/2012 Community Mentoring Programme Sessions (Health & Wellness Session)

01/06/2012 Launch of Wellness Month

16/06/2012 Quality Time

01/07/2012 Launch of Sickle Cell & Bone Marrow Donor Month

25/07 – 12/08/12 Olympics

28/07/2012 Black Heroes Walk

01/08/2012 Launch of Fitness & Active Living Month

01/09/2012 Launch of Cardiovascular Diseases Month

02/09/2012 Family Fun Day (Sports Day)

01/10/2012 Launch of Breast Cancer Month

06/10/2012 Health Fair/Conference

01/11/2012 Launch of Mental Health Month

19/11 – 30/11/12 Re–Assessment

17/12/12 Health & Wellness Report

Bending Towards Justice

Speaking on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, President Barack Obama declared:

"Dr. King once said that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. It bends towards justice, but here is the thing: it does not bend on its own. It bends because each of us in our own ways put our hand on that arc and we bend it in the direction of justice...."

Today, as the murderers of Stephen Lawrence are convicted of that gruesome and cowardly act, let us pause to reflect on this. And let us remember that the arc of some cold justice that the Lawrence family may be feeling today did not bend because there is an immutable force in the world that seeks out injustice and shapes society in the right direction. Let us remember that even those who we charge with protecting society and bringing the unjust to book colluded to produce a rotten system where the most corrupt elements of the human soul can fester unapologetically. Let us remember the reluctance of the gatekeepers of the system to acknowledge the blindingly obvious, to accept the inevitable and stop justifying the unconscionable. And please let us remember that we have reached where we are today due to the efforts of the Lawrence family and the many who stood with and by them in grief and in solidarity - through the legal wrangles, the semantic chicanery about institutional racism, the cartoonish blunders borne either of deliberateness or incompetence – to join hands to force the arc of our moral universe towards some semblance of justice for Stephen.

The actual sentence those wicked people receive does not matter too much today. There may yet be appeals, which will reopen this painful matter. Even if there isn’t, a 100 year life sentence followed by a double execution would not bring back what Mr & Mrs Lawrence would want above all – to have had their son with them for the past 18 years, to have watched him grow into a fine young man, to have marked the critical moments of his life with him and to now being comforted by him as they enter their golden years. Yet, today let us remember. Let us remember the way the world was in 1993, and reflect on how it is today. Let us remember how tenuous the gains of the past 18 years have really been, as witnessed by the number of people who are still killed in custody every year, and how many of our public institutions remain adamant that they are not institutionally racist, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Let us not be blinded by the whiplash of the bending of this arc to presume for one moment that this sentence is indicative of a new age of social justice and public accountability. Because it isn’t. Rather, it is a celebration of the steel of human will, forged in the furnaces of adversity and determined righteousness, to shape the will of society to recognise the need for dignity of all her children regardless of colour, creed or kinship. That is how justice shall be served – by refusing to accept injustice in any way, shape or form.

So today we acclaim the verdict but we do not rejoice. We acknowledge small changes but we do not, - we cannot - take these for granted. We offer thanks for Stephen’s life and how his death has changed the lives of millions of others around the world for the better; even as we pray for his family in their renewed pain of this moment. Today, those of us who can will heed the words of Dr King again and rededicate ourselves to bending the arc of the moral universes around us firmly, doggedly and purposefully towards an inexorable of justice.

Stephen Lawrence, Rest in Peace. VIVA STEPHEN LAWRENCE!

Olu Alake

President, 100 Black Men of London.

REGISTER NOW FOR OUR ACCLAIMED

COMMUNITY MENTORING PROGRAMME

REGISTRATION CLOSES ON SATURDAY 14TH JANUARY 2012

Required* Name of Parent\Guardian  *   Field not valid (required or bad value) Name of Child  *   Field not valid (required or bad value) D.O.B  *   Field not valid (required or bad value) Male Female Telephone  *   Field not valid (required or bad value) Email  *   Field not valid (required or bad value) Comments     Field not valid (required or bad value)   Powered by CK Forms

Our Community Mentoring Programme is now delivered right across London:

North London - West Green Learning Centre, Langham Road, N15 3RB (see map) Entrance on West Green Road & Philip Lane.

South London - London South Bank University, 100-116 London Road, SE1 6LN (see map. Building No 11)

East London - Stratford College, 2 Broadway, Stratford, E15 4QS (entrance next to Jackson Furnishing shop) (see map)

Register online and we will contact you and then attend at your chosen venue on Saturday 14th January 2012 at 10:30am to complete registration and attend the session to start at 11:00am sharp.

Registration is open for:

ME I CAN BE PROGRAMME

A life skills programme for young Black boys and girls aged 10—15. Modules in the programme include: Self-Identity; Family Roles & Responsibilities; Guns, Knives & Violence; Drugs & Substance Abuse; Goal-setting; Peer Relations; Health & Wellbeing. A programme to help young Black boys and girls become strong and centred individuals.

PARENTS IN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME

A community support and discussion forum for parents which aims to Engage; Energise; Equip; Enhance; Empower parents by exploring several issues such as: proactive parenting; single parenting; raising boys vs. girls; social networking and culminates with an event entitled An Audience with Our Children. The programme is designed to compliment and reinforce the session and modules covered in MICB; YLA and PMP.

Contact us now at mentoring@100bmol.org.uk or on 0870 121 4100

BETTER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN BLACK PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN COULD IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL RESULTS AND LIFE CHANCES 

Black parents on a new Parent in Partnership programme found that by developing better communication skills they could have a greater impact on their children, according to a report published by the Black Training and Enterprise Group today.

 The parenting programme was developed jointly by 100 Black Men of London and BTEG. As the idea of a big society develops it is clear that the ‘family unit’ should be more than just mother and father. In the black community the family needs to include other key and influential and non family members who could also play an enabling role.

 The research findings are based on interviews and workshops delivered over a ten week period with forty-seven parents from London during November 2010 - June 2011. All the workshops were held on Saturdays which demonstrated commitment from the parents. Some parents felt inadequate and powerless but were working hard to find practical solutions. Some parents were struggling to ensure their children were brought up with strong morals and values but were at the time mindful of the strength of relationships that were out of their control (.e.g. peer pressure) and which threatened to undermine the work they were doing in raising their child.

 Social networking and technology were identified as key areas for development that parents needed to be better informed about.

 The pilot programme showed that parents:

• Were better informed and felt more able to take greater control of their lives and access helpful information that they need e.g. parents found checklists and questions to ask schools invaluable.
• Were more aware of the things they can do, for instance attending parent’s evenings and taking a more proactive stance around their children’s education.
• Improved their communication skills and developed confidence (e.g. parents reported making changes to their child’s social networking activities. One parent remarked that the programme gave him ‘…the opportunity to show [his child] how important education was…’  
 

  The report’s author, Karl Murray, BTEG’s Head of Research says:

‘100 Black men and BTEG commend black parents for participating in this pilot programme. Parents are often cited as the reason why young people go off the rails and yet hardly any attention is being paid to the multiple pressures that they face and the sort of support they urgently need in order to undertake the role of being a parent.’