On Thursday, July 20, in the 112th year (2023), the health course for migrant workers officially began. The main objective of this course is to raise awareness among migrant workers about their own physical health. Due to the pressures of work, migrant workers sometimes forget to focus on their health, so the course aims to remind them of paying attention to their physical and mental well-being.
Today's topic is healthy eating, and there are ten participants. In the beginning of the course, I posed a question: "When you hear about healthy eating, what comes to your mind?" All the migrant workers enthusiastically answered. Some said, "Eating lots of fruits and vegetables," "Doing more exercise," "Drinking plenty of water," and so on. All their responses were correct, showing that they already understood the basics of healthy eating.
Next, we went on to discuss the five main food groups. Most migrant workers seemed to have heard of these categories, but when we mentioned "grains" and "dairy," they were a bit confused. This might be because these categories are less commonly talked about or use different names in different countries.
All the workers listened attentively, and when we discussed specific food groups like protein, some would enthusiastically shout, "Fish!" However, when it came to "grains" and "dairy," they would exclaim altogether, "Oh, I see!"
After understanding the five food groups, we engaged in a small activity where we showed the workers pictures of different foods and asked them to guess which category each food belonged to. In this activity, many workers guessed the food categories incorrectly. I found this to be quite normal because even when I was searching for this information myself, I sometimes guessed wrong. However, through the process of making these mistakes, we can learn and better remember the knowledge.
Next, we did a learning activity about the "Healthy Plate." In this activity, the workers were tasked with planning their meals for the day, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, based on the design of a healthy plate. They drew out their meal plans on paper and shared them when the activity was finished.
During the sharing session, all the workers confidently and enthusiastically shared their meal plans. No one was too shy to share their creations.
The final small activity was a "True or False" quiz. In this part, I presented the workers with some myths related to "healthy eating" and asked them to guess whether these myths were true or false. Many Filipino workers answered these questions with great enthusiasm, indicating that they may have already heard this information. However, other workers also actively answered some questions. At the end of the course, they filled out a questionnaire to assess today's lesson and to understand if they truly grasped the knowledge they had learned.
The New Affairs Social Service Center is a social service organization dedicated to caring for disadvantaged individuals in the workplace, striving to promote a society where resources are shared for the common good. They have long been committed to improving the quality of life for migrant workers and elderly care, co-creating a harmonious society for migrant workers and employers. They help marginalized groups who suffer from exploitation and injustice, and they invite you to become their guardians. Your donation will help these vulnerable individuals in overcoming their difficulties and obtaining assistance for their rights. Please click(“I want to donate") or call (02) 2397-1933 #122. Thank you for your response and concern!