Saturday 8 February 2025
By Godwin Ifedi, Editor
Over 25 seniors, family members, caregivers and health care professionals were in attendance for the first health seminar hosted by the Ottawa Golden Oldies Black Seniors’ Club, since it inception in 2023. The venue for the event, Tom brown arena hall on Bayview Station Road, Ottawa, with its spacious that allowed easy access for those seniors with mobility problems, was the perfect setting for this important community event. The theme for the seminar was: Keeping healthy in your senior years.
Following a land acknowledgment and introductions by Program Coordinator. Godwin Ifedi, MC Dr. Kusi-Appiah started the ball rolling with a witty introduction of the keynote speaker and panel members.
Keynote speaker cardiologist, Dr. Habibat Garuba delivered a powerful and inspirational slide presentation, titled: Heart Health 101: The Golden Years, she walked the audience through a simple easy-to-follow anatomical description of how the human heart works, causes and treatment of heart diseases. Her recipe for heart health focussed on regular physical exercise, smoking cessation, healthy nutrition, regular socialization with family and friends, and avoidance of internal and external stressors. She listed the following as contributing factors to heart disease: smoking, being overweight, over-indulgence in alcohol, sedentary lifestyles, social isolation, lack of exercise and stress. Treatment ranges from medication to invasive survey such as heart valve replacement, with an emphasis on “patient-centred” treatment planning. She urged all seniors to engage in moderate physical activity, for a minimum of 150 minutes per week, as part of her recipe for good heart health. Such exercise can be outdoors, such as a brisk walk, or indoors such as dancing and stair climbing.
Panel member Dr. Yemi Fasoyinu, a retired public servant, spoke about the challenges of his personal situation: reduced income, social isolation, health problems such as chronic migraine headaches, and reduced ability to engage in physical activities, especially during winter. Panel member Mary Asanansi, a bank manager, who is the primary caregiver for her mother after the latter suffered a stroke, spoke of her own challenges: balancing her fulltime job with full time care of her mother, practically putting her own life on hold, while finding ways to get some time for herself. Panel member Marisa Leblanc, a registered dietitian, walked the audience through the merits of a nutritional and balanced diet, with fibers, vegetables and fruits, avoiding fatty and calorie-loaded junk foods, coupled with regular exercise Panel member Rosette Castor, a registered nurse, echoed the advice of Marisa and emphasized the need for regular medical check ups, for those with diabetes and diagnosed heart or other health conditions.
At the end of the presentations, the audience joined in with questions of their own, such as how to overcome the challenge of grocery shopping and cooking for one , and exercising indoors for those with no access to exercise equipment such as treadmill. At the end of the seminar, participants filled out post-seminar survey questions, all of which expressed satisfaction with the entire seminar. The event concluded with sumptuous lunch provided courtesy of one of the club’s sponsors, the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organisation (OCISO)
Among the special guests at the seminar were: John Adeyefa and Hector Addison, President and Resource Coordinator respectively with the African Canadian Association of Ottawa (ACAO); Donnielle Roman, Yemane Abede and Halimah Shaw, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer and SIP Manager, respectively with the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO), and Toni Jacob, Executive Director of the African Caribbean Wellness Resource Centre.
And a special shout-out to OCISO Volunteer Coordinator Azima Ruzuddinova, as well as our amazing volunteers: Adewale Williams, Laetitia Kragbe, and Sagi Kassymov. They made such a difference in the success of the event.
