Robin Northover
STUDENTS from Wandong Primary School and Middle Kinglake Primary School are hitting the pavements this month thanks to the Global Children’s Challenge and some of Australia’s fittest workplaces.
Wandong Primary School and Middle Kinglake Primary School students are some of almost 40,000 kids from 1,500 classes and 521 schools around the country who are taking part in the free program, which sends students on a virtual trip around the globe.
The Global Children’s Challenge has asked 46 students from the two schools to measure how many steps they’re taking every day.
Participating classes log their steps on an interactive website which takes them on an educational journey around the world. Students can compare their step count with classes at schools around Australia and worldwide.
The goal of the free pedometer-based program is to encourage kids to make exercise a daily habit, motivating each of its participants to take at least 15,000 steps each day to improve fitness and increase awareness about the importance of keeping active.
The Global Children’s Challenge is an Australian initiative, made possible by the hundreds of organisations that participated in the Global Corporate Challenge in 2010, a similar program designed to get the corporate world fit and active. Worldwide, nearly 90,000 children from 1,200 schools in 20 countries are taking part.
Global Corporate Challenge co-founder and leading Australian nutritionist, Shane Bilsborough, said the Global Children’s Challenge is specifically targeted at reducing the obesity epidemic among children aged eight to 12.
“According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Australia has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity globally, and it’s becoming a huge problem in many developed countries around the world,” Mr Bilsborough said.
“Accumulating evidence suggests that this is the first generation of Australians who aren’t expected to live longer than their parents. The Global Children’s Challenge looks to make daily exercise a fun activity for children, and encourage them to make exercise part of their routine, so that we can give our kids a better chance at a healthy life,” Mr Bilsborough said.
By the time the program ends on November 17, students are expected to have completed more than 67 billion steps collectively. Most significantly, students will have learnt the valuable lesson of staying active every day of their lives.
