 A new initiative has been launched by the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment to encourage older persons to take up golf as a way of improving their physical and mental health. The initiative called Golf for Older Persons is a collaboration between the Merriam Home, Help It St. Lucia and the Sandals Foundation. The aim is to provide older persons access to a golf course, equipment, coaching, and create a supportive and friendly environment while enjoying the outdoors. On October 31, 2023, all suited in their golf attire, all the persons embarked on their one-hour activity at the Sandals Golf Club in Carpestate, Grosile. Satisfied with the outcome of the activity, Social Transformation Officer and Golf for the Elderly Persons coordinator, Shalina Manelitien. The Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment partnered with the Sandals Foundation, Help It St. Lucia and the Merriam Home to commemorate and to conclude the month of older persons. This activity is to just teach them the fundamentals of golf and to take them away from their daily routines and just to have an enjoyable moment learning a new sport. As a low-impact sport, golf provides an opportunity to socialize with others and an opportunity to make new friends. It enhances the cognizant function of the memory by stimulating the brain and challenging the mind. The low-impact sport can also be an effective treatment for anxiety, depression and early signs of dementia. I think this is a wonderful exercise, an exercise in concentration for us who are way above 50 and you know it helps you to concentrate, helps you to think because you have to make sure that you're putting properly and correctly. I think we should do this more often anyway. This is the first time but I think we should do it more often or get more persons involved because it does not make sense staying at home doing nothing when you can be here exercising and concentrating. Noted Helpage member and participant Karl Marshall, participant Mirian George, shared similar sentiments. It is nice to be able to do something like that, to entertain people, you know, to come in and make friends even though I lost my, my, what do you call it, my dude. No, no, no, okay, okay. So it is good to go come around like this and relax yourself. The game of golf has been around for centuries and as an elite sport is played by millions of people worldwide, both professionally and recreationally. While efforts have been made in recent years to make golf more accessible and inclusive, the sport still struggles with representing a diverse ethnicity of people of all ages. Sanders Golf and Country Club coach Heniks Joseph says, As before, golf was not available to everyone. It was only available to the elite person but right now Sanders has taken beyond that and has opened up to the public of St. Lucia. So if you want to enjoy golf or have some fun or try something different, come to us at Sanders St. Lucia. Come to Heniks, your golf pro. We've been teaching golf from 1998. So it's a matter of 25 years teaching golf. Lots of experience out there. You will enter yourself. We're going to make this epic. According to a 2021 report by the National Golf Foundation, the percentage of senior golfers in the Caribbean is estimated to be 2.85%. The study also revealed that playing golf may help older adults live longer, reducing the risk of early death by 15%. From the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, and Empowerment, Jovrey Marius.