 District 2's fun walk returned after a two-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing over a thousand students who danced and sang along as they made their way across the world network connecting Lance Road, San Susi and Barnard Hill. The event was created some 14 years ago with the intention of encouraging students to adopt healthier lifestyles so that they may have the best possible education experience. An officer for District 2, Merlin Polymers Innocent, emphasized the need for students to pay close attention to that connection. Our children enjoy themselves, our principals worked, our teachers worked, we the DEO worked, our minister worked, it is an opportunity for the children to see the benefits of exercise because we all know that exercise is very beneficial to a healthy lifestyle. Vice Chairman of District 2's Sports Committee, Micah Alexander, says the activity is particularly significant, especially as most of the sporting events of the district will be held during the second term. Well, second term is actually known for athletics and so given that we're commencing with our fun work it leads straight into our individual school sports meets and of course our field event segment, well of course we're going to have our cricket ball through activities which will be following up quite soon. Education Minister Hon. Sean Edward took pleasure in supporting District 2's activity, impressing on the importance for the young ones to continue to be physically active to help fight chronic and non-communicable diseases. As you know, Saint Lucia, as a small country we have a lot of chronic non-communicable diseases that our people have to live with on a daily basis and it is costing the government of Saint Lucia a lot of money to procure medication and to provide care for those persons and the health practitioners have said to us that quite apart from being able to go to the doctor on a regular basis to seek medical care prevention is always the better option. Nutritionists from the Ministry of Health one hand to promote an ongoing campaign to get school children more knowledgeable on the choices of beverages to help avoid an overload of sugar which over time can lead to metabolic illnesses. Saint Lucia has been recorded as having one of the highest rates of diabetes in the region and indeed the world. Well, research has shown that the excessive intake of added sugars can cause obesity in children and obesity is associated with chronic conditions, chronic diseases so we see it fitting because we realize that children consume so much sugary beverages and we see it fitting so that we can educate them because we want our nation to be healthy especially our children. The Ministry of Health has been meeting with officials from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Commerce as well as other stakeholders aimed at finding the correct approach in reducing the purchase and consumption of beverages with high sugar content in schools on the island. The 2023 District 2 fun work was held under the theme building healthy bodies to sustain energetic minds. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Education Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training I am Chris Sutney reporting.