Monterrey’s Government and the Adventist Church sign agreement to promote health initiative in the city
Representatives from Monterrey’s Ministry of Health and Seventh-day Adventist leaders begin signing the Memorandum of Understanding during a short ceremony at the España Park, May 23, 2016. The joint agreement will have literature evangelists surveying and educating about health and offering publications on healthy living. Image by North Mexican Union
June 20, 2016 | Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico | Abdiel Hernández/IAD Staff
Pastor Filiberto Grajeda, president of the Northeast Conference (left) and Representative from Monterrey’s Ministry of Health Francisco González (right) hold the signed Memorandum of Understanding. Image by North Mexican Union.
Representatives from the Ministry of Health from the city of Monterrey, Mexico, stood next to Seventh-day Adventist leaders in North Mexico to sign a memorandum of understanding, last month. The group of leaders agreed to work together in promoting health across the more than 300,000 homes where more than one million people live in the metropolitan city, during a ceremony held at the España Park, May 23, 2016.
It is the first large-scale memorandum of understanding that the church has signed with the city to promote a healthy lifestyle, with the church’s “I Want to Live Healthy” program. The program centers around the health message, which focuses on the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the person.
The MOU will allow the church’s literature evangelists to take part in the “Neighborhood Doctor” initiative designed by the municipal government, which seeks to inform, educate and survey the inhabitants on health.
The Neighborhood Doctor program has the objective to turn Monterrey into a healthy city through generating a culture of promotion and health prevention as well as early detection of noncommunicable and degenerative diseases, government leaders said.
Francisco González Alinas, representative from Monterrey’s Ministry of Health thanked the Adventist Church for its support and the many health expos and project activities the church has held in the city.
“Thank your for being available and helping citizens, not only with regards to health but in all other social assistance areas,” said González. “You’re a church that really concerns itself with the well-being of persons.”
Literature evangelists from North Mexico get special I.D. badges to go house-to-house in Monterrey as the church and the government work together to promote and educate about living healthy. Image by North Mexican Union
During the MOU ceremony, Pastor Victor Reyes, publishing ministries director for the church in North Mexico presented the “101 Secrets to a Healthy Life” book as one of the many books on health that more than 80 literature evangelisms will be offering during the city’s initiative.
Literature evangelists will go house-to-house surveying with the municipal district’s program, and follow with providing health books for sale, church leaders said during the coming weeks, months and year.
The church’s “I Want To Live Health” initiative was launched in Monterrey in 2014 and has also been implemented in nearly two dozen other states in Mexico. The initiative consists of the eight steps to living a healthy lifestyle: drinking water, keeping a positive attitude, eating salads, exercising, resting, avoiding poor foods, eating a better breakfast, less dinners and promoting happiness.
To learn more about the Seventh-day Adventist Church North Mexico and its “I Want To Live Healthy” initiative, visit adventistasumn.org