The Heart & Stroke Foundation South Africa, in association with SAFA (Western Cape), presents a day of opportunity (and football!) at the UWC Stadium in the heart of the Western Cape.

When: Sunday 26th November
Where: UWC Stadium, Bellville

We will be hosting a 5-a-side, street-rules soccer day for 280 children from disadvantaged areas in Cape Town and the Western Cape. Schools from Gugulethu to Grassy Park and beyond will be sending teams to play a tournament. The tournament will be co-ordinated by SAFA (Western Cape) and the facilities are provided by the University of the Western Cape.

Aims of the event

To promote the link between health, sport and fun

To educate those present on the dangers of heart disease, and the benefits of exercise

To raise awareness (through publicity of the event) of heart disease and the work of the Heart & Stroke Foundation

To stress the dangers of an unhealthy lifestyle, bad diet and smoking, particularly the burden it can place on the heart

To prepare the next generation to be heart-healthy

Who are we?
The Heart & Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSFSA) is a non-profit Section 21 company with an 18A status. Our aim is to reduce the incidence of stroke and cardiovascular disease through education and support of research. After AIDS and HIV, heart disease is the biggest killer in South Africa. Our function is to present the vast and often confusing amount of information on stroke and heart disease to the public in a straightforward way that relates to them.

What do we do?
The Heart & Stroke Foundation aims to reduce the incidence of stroke & heart disease, to raise awareness of their dangers, to disseminate the huge amount of information available and make it easy to understand, and to help people be aware of their own heart-health and guide them on healthy living.
We do this through our Children's Programme, which educates crèche and primary children in heart-healthy living (and currently reaches over 1.5 million children); our Sow-A-Seed, a voluntary programme where we plant vegetable gardens for crèches; Corporate and Community Screenings, where we test the public for blood pressure and cholesterol levels; as well as fundraising events, a magazine, leaflets and much more.

Why is this important?
Because in South Africa today:

1 person suffers a heart attack every 12 minutes, ¼ of which result in death

Cardiovascular disease is the second biggest cause of death in South Africa - behind HIV/Aids.

In South Africa, one in three men and one in four women will have a heart condition by the age of 60

Women are 9 times more likely to develop heart disease then breast cancer

In South Africa 29% of men and 56% of women are either overweight or obese

6.3 million South Africans suffer from Hypertension

An additional 4.5 million South Africans suffer from High Blood Pressure

1.5 million South Africans suffer from Diabetes II

Strokes cause 7.5% of deaths amongst working people between the ages of 25 & 64 years...

These are our friends, family and colleagues, and they can be helped...

For further information, please contact Megan Hitchin on 021 447 4222, 083 290 3147 or email on megan@heartfoundation.co.za

Company name : Heart & Stroke Foundation

Contact name : Megan Hitchin

Telephone number : 021 447 4222

Email address : megan@heartfoundation.co.za

Web address : www.heartfoundation.co.za

[31 Oct 2006 15:23]

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