WALKATHON 7.0: Healthy Billionaires Club Advocates Unity, Sustainable Development
By Missang AKPET
The Healthy Billionaires Club Calabar has held the 7th edition of its annual Walkathon themed "Walk for Unity and Sustainable Development."
The club, made up of members from all walks of life, started the annual fitness walk in 2020 and has sustained it as a platform for health advocacy and community service.
Flagging off the 12-kilometre walk in Calabar, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh, said the theme was apt, particularly as the nation approaches an election season.
Prof. Enoh noted that Cross River State can attain greater heights when its people speak with one voice and work towards a common purpose, adding that sustainable development is only possible through collaboration between government and citizens.
"This is when we choose unity and sustainable development as a people. We are going through an election year, there's nothing that will be as strong as unity going through an election year.
"No matter the divide, no matter the political parties that we are, just like our national anthem says, though tribe and tongue may differ, in unity we stand," he said.
Welcoming participants, the Chairman of the Healthy Billionaires Fitness Club, Mr. William Archibong Jnr, said this year's walk was aimed at using the club's platform to promote unity and support the developmental efforts of the Governor Bassey Otu led administration.
He said beyond promoting wellness and healthy living, it was important to also encourage unity and development as indicators of a healthy society.
Assistant Secretary of the club, Mr. Hope Obeten, who reflected on the club's journey since 2020, said the Walkathon brings the Calabar community together to walk for a cause and serves as an advocacy tool for the club.
According to him, the club has recorded significant social impact over the years through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, including paying medical bills for indigent patients and conducting medical outreaches in communities within and outside Calabar.
Obeten added that the 12-kilometre walk along the Calabar Carnival route was also intended to promote the carnival ahead of December, describing it as the first unofficial dry run for the festival.
The walk, which attracted various fitness clubs, corporate organisations and members of the public, also featured health talks, free medical checks and counselling.
