NINE students are set to transform health and wellbeing in their communities after graduating from a nine week course at Borders College in Galashiels.

Run in partnership between the College and Scottish Borders Council’s Learning Disability Service, the Health Champions course offers adults with a learning disability the chance to find out more about good nutrition and the benefits of regular physical activity. 

It is a fully-accredited course, with successful students achieving the SQA unit ‘Improving Well-Being ‘at SCQF Level 3.

Course costs were met by a successful application to Community Food & Health (Scotland) for their Annual Development Fund 2014 award.

The students who successfully graduated from the 2015 course were presented with their certificates by college Vice-Principal, Heather Anderson at a ceremony on Thursday, December 2.

Health Champion Pauline Landers from Innerleithen said: “It’s been a brilliant course and it has given me more confidence.

"I really enjoyed working out in the gym and looking at food labels, so I now can find out what foods have a lot of fat in them.”

The nine graduates included Heather Burton, Jean Pierre Cossigny, Karen Hogg, Pauline Landers, Marcia Lauder, Ronald Young, Macauley Crosbie, Christopher Latimer and Lucy Robertson.

Joan Campbell, Learning Disability Champion at Scottish Borders Council added: “Congratulations to all nine graduates on this well-deserved acknowledgement and recognition of their achievement.

"I have no doubt they worked extremely hard and now wish them every success as they put when they have learned into practice, both in terms of their own health and well-being and in their role as ambassadors sharing their knowledge with their peers in their local communities.”

Qualified Health Champions help others to enjoy healthier lives by raising awareness of health and healthy choices, sharing health messages and creating supportive environments. 

Within families, communities and workplaces they empower and motivate people to get involved in healthy social activities and signpost people to relevant services.

The Health Champions will also have an important role helping to deliver the ‘A Healthier Me’ project in the Borders over the next few years.

Financed by the Scottish Government’s Health Inequalities Fund, ‘A Healthier Me’ aims to tackle the lifestyle issues that can lead to poor health amongst people with a learning disability.

The project provides a pathway which gives people access to a wide range of tools and resources that they can use to improve their personal health and wellbeing. Health Champions will play a role in supporting people in their local communities to get involved in the project.