Meeting Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Qlik organized a CSR trip to Lebanon to visit the Syrian settlements during August 12- 17^th  2018 in association with our CSR partner Medair. I was a part of this trip along with 7 other Qlikkies from different parts of the world. This was an overwhelming experience to say the least and we spent the week visiting settlements, clinics, health assistance offered by Medair and also interacted with the refugees. Medair also demonstrated how they are using Qlik’s technology and software to serve the refugees needs.

Lebanon is one of the countries hosting many Syrians, in fact 1 out of every 4 in Lebanon is a refugee, the country is hosting more than one million refugees  

Qlik's CSR partner, Medair provides families with new-arrival shelter kits, repair kits for existing shelters, and specialized shelter interventions for the elderly and disabled. They also work to improve the living conditions and safety of the settlements through site improvements and fire prevention

There are many inspiring stories of the work done by Medair for refugees and I would like to share one of them…….

We met a  lady who's is a mother of 6 and fell and from a ladder 4 months ago, due to this she can’t move anything from the waist down. MedAir’s Case Management Team got on to this case and built a shelter for her in a new area for her to come to as soon as she got out of the hospital,

They built support rails so she could move around and out of the house as well as a toilet that would suit her situation.In the meantime, they also arranged for another agency to provide her with a bed, wheelchair, walker and a physio.Her kids are between the ages of 5-16, and help around the house with cooking and the two older ones go to the fields to harvest fruits for an hourly salary.

Despite her circumstance, she was very positive throughout the interaction…

I would like to quote what Steffan, the Country Manager of MedAir Lebanon has to say – “Because the crisis has been here for a long period of time, it is not present in the minds of media and donors. It is a crisis that people feel should have evolved by now, and this has led to a decrease in funding. But the needs are still high. These people could not progress due to their situation and the Lebanese economic situation which is deteriorating, and this makes them more vulnerable.”

Why most Indians are physically unfit?

Deeper issue

While the average Indian may not be as muscular than his western, African friends or lean like our eastern friends and we take pride in the fact that we are the ‘yoga nation’, most urban Indians are obese and unfit, lets accept this fact. Although various studies put us in the top 5 countries in obesity rankings, if we include only urban dwellers, as a percentage of the total urban population, this number could be much higher. What is alarming is the increase in obesity among children which puts us in second place after China according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. A fitness survey by Gympik suggests that 53 per cent of respondents said that they are not disciplined enough to remain fit. This research based on responses of 1.06 million people also discovered that 53 per cent lack the time to exercise, 36 per cent lack motivation to enroll at a fitness center whereas 14 per cent claim to be completely clueless about where to begin their fitness regime. While all this may be true, it’s just the tip of the iceberg and the issue is deeper.

Lucky me!

Let me cite my own example. When I began working out about 25 years ago and hit the gym, I transformed myself from a skinny boy into a muscular boy, friends thought I was preparing for body building as a sport or I was thinking of pursuing a career modelling or that I was the ‘akhada’ types. Not many felt it necessary that being fit is as important to me as it is for them. Funnily, my good grades also left them confused about how a muscular boy could also being good in studies! I will talk more on this….

Anyways, for me, I had incorporated fitness as a way of life and which I have been able to pursue till date. 

So what got me going? “Luckily”, for me, I grew up in a family of health conscious folks. My grandfather was a wrestler and my Dad won many awards in sports at the University and State level. I spent vacations at my Uncle’s place who was also a health freak. I guess all this captured my imagination and I too picked up sports in school and college and also won few awards. So, in a way fitness was embedded in my family as a culture and it came naturally to me. So perhaps, in that sense, I inherited a fitness culture. Many of us may not be in this space. That’s why I say I was lucky!

Study and don’t play

Times may have changed now but in school, sports wasn’t encouraged, it wasn’t exactly something that one should pursue, not at the cost of studies. Studies are top priority and on this front, I don’t think much has changed in India. It was also felt someone who’s good in sports isn’t very good in studies. Why waste time in playing was an oft asked question and many of us would remember that we were often whacked for playing and not studying enough! This step motherly treatment towards sports has eventually percolated down on fitness.

While this wasn’t always the case in India, interestingly, during the days of gurukuls, teaching focused on giving equal importance to the body, mind and soul. Pupils were considered unworthy if they didn’t excel in all three.

Get proactive

Those who travel internationally, notice that there is a great amount of emphasis on fitness and it’s a part of their life. Unlike us, it’s a part of their culture and something that they embody easily. And its not only about people jogging, cycling etc. its all about what they eat which is the other half of the story. Most of the food is oil free or less oil, raw and less cooked, exactly the opposite of what we generally prefer.

The same study mentioned above, revealed the following motivations for people joining a gym/fitness center in India and one can infer, we have a reactive tendency when it comes to fitness.

·        33 per cent joined a fitness center to combat stress

·        53 per cent to reduce health-related risks

·        46 per cent to improve their energy levels

·        42 per to lose weight

Beyond exercise and food

Even going beyond food and exercise, it’s also about the passions and liking we pursue in our daily life. An example of that is the sports we are passionate about. Its common knowledge that the most popular sport in India is cricket. Nothing wrong with cricket but c’mon, one doesn’t really test physical endurance levels in cricket as much as other sports do, like football, tennis, track and field sports. Again, times are changing and people are gravitating towards other sports but cricket still rules the roost. Well, we must begin to appreciate other sports not for anything else but to create an aspiration to achieve THAT level of fitness. You become what you see!

Creating a fitness culture

Lack of a fitness culture is the root cause of our poor fitness levels for Indians. We might cite various reasons like lack of time, busy schedule, other priorities etc. All this is nonsense. The way forward is really to develop a fitness culture in our families, workplace and environment. Conversations should be around fitness. We should begin asking questions to ourselves like did I spend time exercising today? Am I eating healthy food? Should I eat something raw and fresh than cooked and fried? No harm in also asking people in our surroundings questions such as these.

Slowly and surely, our mind would orient ourselves in moving towards fitness as a way of life. Of course, it’s not a short route but a sure and sustainable one. This may seem challenging initially, there would be roadblocks but its achievable. 

In your journey of staying fit, once a ‘fitness culture’ is embedded, joining a fitness centre is just a cog in the wheel.

Able bodies may not be forever

For the purpose of this write up, an able body means one which is physically capable of exercising, an injury free body.

Those who exercise regularly experience injuries at some point or the other. Minor injuries could be in the form of a muscle pull, muscle tear, ligament damage etc. and major injuries could be like a dislocation of the bone or fractures etc. Any injury, minor or major renders one incapable of exercising with the same force that one otherwise would.  It may also make one incapable of undertaking an exercise routine one likes under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, injuries are unavoidable and are a part and parcel of one’s regime. My personal experience is that when I get injured, I feel I am missing an important routine in my life and really look forward to recovering as quickly as possible. Although not avoidable, injuries can best be minimized but not eliminated. Whether one exercises or not, one’s body may not be 100% able at all times.

Due to the modern lifestyle that we live in, the capacity of our body to withstand wear and tear is going down and you are prone to health issues at a young age. For example, if you are sitting on a computer for long periods, you stand the chance of cervical problems. Diabetes, hypertension are perils of the modern age. A sedentary lifestyle causes many issues from dietary habits have also changed radically and the capacity of our body to endure physical strains has reduced considerably. Its common to see people with health issues at a young age witnessed earlier at an older age, due to our modern lifestyle.

One needs to understand that the capacity of the human body to remain fit, participate fully in a physical activity is getting lesser. This bracket is getting smaller and smaller . We are not living in a world where we are able to believe that our body would be 100% fit at all times, particularly for exercising. Also, its possible that an injury might make one incapable of a particular exercise and if one is not able to do what one likes, that could be frustrating.  I know many friends who are not able, for example to do weight training at a young age due to back issues, some are not able to run due to knee problems. All this makes them unfit for many exercises even though they might be interested. Some of them are also cannot to do hard and regular workouts due to less endurance levels.

Bearing this in mind, it makes sense to make the best use of time on hand and while the body is capable, leverage it to extend its life a bit more. While you may be obese or skinny or not exercising at all, if your body is ‘fit’, that is the best thing to happen to you right now. What this means is that you can choose the type of workout you want and do it at your own pace and will. This is by all means a luxury which you may want to enjoy while you can. While many of us have time issues, priority issues, one forgets the fact that you may not have the same body forever. You may find time at a later point in time but your body may not be able to support your aspirations.

Forget new year resolutions, they are passe’, the mantra is carpe diem.