Sports and Health
Since the inception of the GH Foundation, sports and health have always been one of our priorities. It is something that children, youth, and adults can all enjoy - and we are all about having good, healthy, educational fun!
UACP is currently looking for passionate individuals with ideas for sports and/or health events. If you think you have this great idea, don't hesitate to send us your proposal. E-mail it to info@graceheritagefoundation.org with "Sports and Health" on the subject line.
Sports and Health in Southeast Asia
Nothing galvanizes unity better than sports, though sometimes it does turn neighbours into enemies for the duration of a championship. Sports has always been more than just a pastime to Southeast Asians.
Sepak Takraw or Pencak Silat are probably the first things that come to mind when one talks about Southeast Asian sports. But rest assured that we do have a lot more sports than those two. In fact, almost all of the world's most popular team sports are played by Southeast Asians, especially badminton, soccer, tennis, and volleyball. It is worth noting that the region's badminton players have always been among the world's best since the seventies.
To witness the popularity of soccer, go to a playing field anywhere in Southeast Asia at around 6pm and surely you will see kids and adults kicking, running, and yelling over one black and white ball. Our fascination of soccer doesn't stop at ASEAN borders, there hundreds of fanclubs of European and South American soccer teams.
The region's biggest sporting event is the bi-annual Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. The last games was held in 2007 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. More than 400 events in 43 sports were played, more than any Olympic or Asian Games.
Naturally, one cannot separate sports from health. Similar to the philosophy of other Asian cultures, health is of highly importance in Southeast Asian families. One of the more common saying across the regions is that health worth more than gold - of course in today's world you can replace gold with so many other things from money to houses.
From cutting-edge biotechnology to centuries-old elixirs, from accupuncture to neurosurgery; both eastern and western schools of medicine are part of modern Southeast Asian life. In a typical Asian way of perceiving the world, Southeast Asians take this with a grain of salt. The average person would likely to consult with experts from both schools regarding his or her ailments rather than completely disregarding either one.