There was a rich artistic display at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) last Friday when the school held a wellness outreach programme for students.
Participants were also schooled on the techniques of painting and given the chance to watch the world blockbuster movie titled “Black Panther”, to climax the activities, which included deep muscle relaxation techniques, biofeedback sessions and arm chair massages.
The fun-filled event was organised by the GIMPA Counselling Centre in collaboration with the GIMPA clinic and the Student’s Representative Council (SRC) of the school.
Dubbed: “A sound mind and a sound body”, the programme also afforded students the opportunity to undergo counselling sessions to help them adopt healthy behavioural lifestyles to improve their emotional and physical wellbeing.
Free branded gifts were made available for every participant as well as an assortment of fruits provided by Maxxmart Supermarket, to encourage students make healthy diet choices.
The Dean of GIMPA students, Professor Anthony Mawauli Sallar, in an interview with the Ghanaian Times on the sidelines of the programme, underscored the need for various educational institutions to have counselling centres, where students could always feel free to go to when there was the need.
He said “It is not everybody who feels free to speak to their parents or friends when they are troubled, so having a specific area where students could go and talk to a psychologist, I believe will go a long way in improving their mental wellbeing.”
Prof. Sallar urged students who could not patronise this year’s edition to make themselves available for the next one.
According to him, organising fun-filled events on campuses also helped reduce stress that came with academics, among students.
President of the Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG) GIMPA, Mr Ralphael Apetorgbor, expressed gratitude to management of the school for coming up with such initiative, and urged students to involve themselves actively in all programmes the school undertook.
“This is all for our wellbeing so let us all get ourselves involved in all activities on campus to show our commitment and gratitude,” he added.
Mr Apetorgbor advised students to make healthy diet choices to keep them strong and protect them against preventable diseases.
A beneficiary, Ms Lovelace Aidoo, told the Ghanaian Times that she enjoyed the painting session of the programme, and called for the organisation of more of such programme on campus.
BY RAISSA SAMBOU