Vivian Onyebukwa
The 2020 edition of a yearly walk tagged “Arise Walk for Life,” with the theme; “#StayingAlive,” which would hold on Saturday, October 17, 2020, is an opportunity to reduce the spread of coronavirus in the country.
Convener of Arise Women, a purely humanitarian foundation, the organisers of the event, Dr. Siju Iluyomade, disclosed this at a press conference, on Sunday October 11, 2020, at Four Point by Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Iluyomade stated that the event, which started over 10 years ago, would commence at 7am in over 50 clusters across Nigeria, London, the United States of America, Canada and various isolation centres.
While encouraging everyone to embrace the walk, Iluyomade said, “You can just walk in a cluster of 25, but you must maintain social distance in the process. ‘Walk for Life,’ means get up, keep yourself alive and walk.
“Africa recorded few COVID-19 cases because African people walk, and this strengthens their hearts and they burn calories in the process. Walking eliminates joint aches and boosts the immune system, which is why COVID-19 is limited in Africa.”
She stated that influencers and celebrities have always been part of Arise and some of them would be around for the walk this year.
According to her, guests expected at the walk are the Special Assistant to the President on Sports, Super Eagles legend, Daniel Amokachi; Olympic gold medalist and sports administrator, Mary Onyali; former deputy governor of Lagos State, Special Adviser to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Adejoke Orelope Adefulire; popular DJs Humility and Xclusive, Kaffy, DJ Cuppy, Bimbo Akintola, Nathaniel Bassey, Peter Rufai, and others.