03 Mar 2020

Safari companies’ employees have been urged to embrace healthy lifestyle choices for the success of the organizations they work for and reduce health care costs.

Official from Titaina Fitness Centre, Mr Lado Tshenolo revealed in an interview after a aerobics training that safari workers should take issues of fitness and healthy living seriously.

He said healthy living to most people meant both physical and mental health were in balance or functioning well together. 

Healthy lifestyle, he said included every facet of people’s lives being physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual. 

He stressed the need for companies to adopt wellness programmes strategies to improve the well-being of employees as they spent most of their productive time at the workplace. 

Mr Tshenolo appreciated an initiative by Metta Bhavana company which brought different safari companies together to participate in a fitness challenge as a way to promote healthy lifestyle.

He said Maun had a lot of entertainment and people tended to forget the importance of exercising and healthy eating. 

He said people could go for entertainment/fun events but should be mindful of what they eat, drink, and to spend part of their time on training/exercising.

He encouraged the community to always exercise, avoid fatty foods. He encouraged them utilise gym rooms or use equipment at Maun Sports Complex which is available for their use at no cost.

The event dubbed safari inter games challenge and wellness  was held at Maun Sports Complex recently.

It was organised by Metta Bhavana Company and attracted employees from different safari companies and  activities included aerobics, yoga, athletics and soccer among others.

They were also drilled on how they could improve their lives to have a healthy lifestyle. 

In an interview, the director of Metta Bhavana, Ms Lesego Moeng explained that she came up with the initiative to cater for safari employees who stay most of their time in the bush.

She said the employees spent more time far away from their families.

The event aimed to bring them together as a team to have fun and at the same promoting wellness in the workplace and discuss other life related issues.

She appreciated that the employees played a critical role in the tourism industry through their different services and believed that they needed time to relax.

Employees, she said were the face of the tourism industry as they provided excellent service to local and international tourists.

Ms Moeng stated that the employees  needed motivation so that they double their efforts in delivering service.

“I felt that there was a need to hold a fitness event to appreciate the good work done by safari employees in our tourism industry. These people are doing a great job to sell our country and we need to appreciate their efforts,” she added.

Ms Moeng called on sponsors to come and board to support the event which she aimed to host annually. 

She called on hospitality industry employees and other stakeholders to participate in the next event adding that it would benefit them physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically.  

Machaba Safari human resource manager, Mr Tuelo Montshonyana hailed the organisers of the event saying it was critical for safari companies to take issues of fitness and wellness at the workplace seriously.

He said they supported the initiative as it could benefit the employees and companies. 

If companies could embrace employees’ wellness, he said they would reap the benefits of the wellness activities.

Mr Montshonyana revealed that at Machaba, they had considered to construct a gym room for their employees and appreciated that some workers in other safari camps always participated  in activities such as football. Ends