Visitors pedalling to make juice with the blenders fixed to the cycles. PICTURE: Najeer Feroke

By Joseph Varghese
Staff Reporter

Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) launched the ‘Yalla Natural Road Show’ as part of its ‘Your Health First’ initiative at Doha Corniche on Thursday.
The road show provides tips on health, fitness, cooking and gardening. Participants will have a chance to interact with WCMC-Q experts and can also engage in other activities.
In this new initiative to educate nationals and residents about the importance of nutrition and exercise, WCMC-Q has displayed a variety of vegetables and gardening plants among others on a trailer, near Sheraton Park.
As part of the road show, the 'Yalla Natural Trailer’ can be seen at different places over the coming weekends. It will be open to the public from 4pm to 10pm on Friday at the Corniche.
The trailer will be at Sealine Qatar Olympic Winter Camp on February 26 and 27. It will move to Aspire Zone on March 5 and 6 and will be at Katara on March 26 and 27.
Hanan Lakkis, media relations manager, WCMC-Q observed that the initiative has a unique approach. “We are promoting organic cultivation of vegetables which can be done on the terrace or the sides of the windows of the buildings. This will provide natural and healthy food items as well as provide room for physical activity.”
Lakkis also said that the university has engaged several schools in greenhouse cultivation. “Last year, we supported and engaged students from 15 independent schools in the greenhouse projects, which were a huge success. Now there are 40 schools where we have provided greenhouses and all of them have started to grow vegetables.”
Ahmed al-Qahtani, a WCMC-Q student, taught participants different exercises. He demonstrated various simple exercises which prompted onlookers to join in.
There were also cooking demonstrations in which chefs from Amlak Hospitality showed how to prepare healthy dishes. They also highlighted the importance of salads, especially organic vegetables which are free from chemicals and fertilisers. Visitors were also supplied small cans to grow vegetables and other plants along with seeds, saplings and soil.
‘Sahtak Awalan’ – ‘Your Health First’ is a national health campaign initiated by WCMC-Q and Qatar Foundation in partnership with several leading organisations in the country to promote healthy living habits among the people of Qatar.