Wellbeing is a broad term but put simply by the WhatWorksCentre for Wellbeing, it is about “how we are doing”: “It’s how we experience life – quality of life, good physical and mental health, and being part of our communities. It’s about how external conditions affect our lives and how we function in society.”
As per WhatWorksCentre for Wellbeing, wellbeing is defined to have 10 broad dimensions which have been shown to matter most to people in the UK as identified through a national debate.
The dimensions are:
- The natural environment,
- Personal well-being,
- Our relationships,
- Health,
- What we do,
- Where we live,
- Personal finance,
- The economy,
- Education and
- Skills and governance.
5 Ways to Wellbeing :
The Five Ways to Wellbeing are a set of evidence-based actions which promote people’s wellbeing. While they don’t claim to be the biggest determinants of wellbeing, they offer a set of simple things individuals can do in their everyday lives. They were developed by the New Economics Foundation and based on the findings of the 2008 Government Office for Science Foresight report on Mental Capital and Wellbeing that aimed to develop a long term vision for maximising wellbeing in the UK. They are
- Connect
- Be Active
- Take Notice
- Keep Learning
- Give
Apna Virsa’s projects and programmes provide opportunities for engagement and taking part. Taking part matters: this can be in terms of getting involved in community activities that can affect both physical and mental health; taking part can also help people to increase their skills. Activities that take place in community hubs or heritage buildings or places can improve a sense of belonging and pride. They can also help people to connect to others, which can particularly help in terms of building trust and self-confidence.
Activities provided by Apna Virsa to promote Wellbeing:
Some of the examples of activities as part of Wellbeing are:
- Activities like gardening, walking, exercise classes such as Yoga, Bhangra, pilates designed to help people get active;
- Creative courses as part of our Arts and Heritage projects engaging people from wider sections resulting in public exhibitions of their work;
- Activities like singing, exercise taster sessions, dancing for people with dementia and other conditions in care homes, reducing the isolation the residents feel.
- Opportunities for people experiencing isolation to volunteer, with an objective of supporting them into paid employment;
- Visits to heritage sites as part of our Heritage projects which can address loneliness and to build social networks;
- The creation of volunteering and leadership opportunities as part of different projects run by Apna Virsa.
- Creative courses such as Bhangra dancing, How to play Dhol designed for young people including those isolated or/and not in education, work or training;
- Supporting clients with a provision of transportation to enable a wider range of people to engage and participate in activities.
- Visits and creative programmes designed for parents with young families on low incomes.
Learning is one of the five ways to wellbeing and we are constantly looking for ways to deliver projects where participants can learn. Learning new things can help to build self-confidence and happiness and change how the person think about his or her life.
