Melrose is a student of the WEA’s Tandrusti project, which is aimed at improving the health and well being of people from Black and Minority Ethnic communities in Dudley, through a range of courses involving physical activity.
The project has already helped to improve the health and fitness levels of over 1,000 students.
Melrose initially attended one of the Tandrusti Community Gyms on an exercise and health awareness course. She says she found the benefits to her physical health so encouraging that she is now actively volunteering on the project herself.
Melrose says she was keen to improve her health by improving her diet and through regular exercise, but she also gained an unexpected knowledge and understanding about anatomy and physiology from her Tandrusti involvement.
After training as a volunteer with Tandrusti, she regularly takes large groups for health walks around Dudley and promotes and encourages the regular exercise message within the community. Following her successes, Melrose now has a full-time job.
She says “I want to show how exercise can be quite exciting and varied and doesn’t have to always be in a gym… also the anatomy and physiology knowledge and awareness I have gained from my Tandrusti course is highly useful to me personally and as a volunteer.”