As part of activities marking World Obesity Day and World Kidney Day 2026, students from the Laborie Boys and Laborie Girls Primary Schools joined forces for an interactive health walk through the streets of Laborie. Armed with placards and chants, the young health ambassadors brought messages on healthy eating and lifestyle directly to residents and businesses in the village. The walk was held under the theme "Twòp Sik Pa Bon" a rallying call for the reduction of sugar-sweetened beverages and unhealthy dietary habits. As the students moved through the village, they chanted health messages and engaged with community members and business owners along the route.

Nutritionist with the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition, Fadia Campbell, says this year's walk builds on a growing tradition of engaging students in the fight against unhealthy dietary habits. “This year, we're into our third year, encouraging students to walk, and we've also hinged it on the theme, “Twòp Sik Pa Bon”. And this is also in promoting the reduction in sugar-sweetened beverages within the school environment. So today, we are here again with Laborie Boys and Laborie Girls, walking along the streets of Laborie, chanting health messages, also talking about the adverse effects on the excess consumption of sugary foods and drinks. So we continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Education in fostering healthy habits among the school children, and also by extension the general population.”

Principal of the Laborie Boys’ Primary School, Yvonne Barthelmy, emphasized the critical role of health education at the school level in addressing the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in Saint Lucia. “We have to educate our students so that they in turn can take those messages and bring them home to the adults, to the parents because we know the high prevalence of diabetes in our society and the hypertension and the cancers so we have to let them recognize that healthy eating is very important that they have to eat their fruits, they have to drink water, we try to instill in them that is very important.”

The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition will continue to partner with schools across Saint Lucia to promote healthy habits among the island's youngest citizens, recognizing that the values instilled in children today are an investment in a healthier nation tomorrow.