Feelgood Fridays continue on our Healthy Hearts project

Afrocats raised the roof again at our latest Healthy Hearts session, where community care meets movement, music and empowerment.

These special Fridays focus on supporting the health and wellbeing of global majority adults in North Manchester, many of whom come from African and Caribbean heritage communities living in areas of high deprivation.

We’re here to dismantle Manchester’s health inequalities, and so each session offers free blood pressure checks along with guidance from Afrocats staff and visiting professionals.

And recently, we’ve welcomed fantastic guest speakers, including a student nutritionist and a qualified physio practitioner.

Why does this matter?

High blood pressure often goes unnoticed and without symptoms, but it can lead to serious cardiovascular complications if left unchecked.

We encourage everyone to book a follow-up with their GP if results are high; testing can come at a small cost, but at Afrocats our checks are completely free, and we help participants track readings over time.

We also share practical ways to keep participants’ blood pressure healthy:

• Stop smoking

• Exercise regularly (dancing counts!)

• Manage stress, and get enough rest

• Eat healthily – especially watching salt intake

• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water

  
  

After the check-ups and chats, we then switch gears with 1 hour of uplifting, culturally inclusive dance led by the incredible Nessa, whose routines are designed to be accessible and joyful, blending familiar steps with new rhythms to keep it fun and energising for everyone - see photos and videos below.

Nessa says:

‘I use the same steps with different tracks for variety – otherwise people can lose interest. It’s all about feeling good in your body.’

And as project lead Edel adds:

‘Participants have built deep trust with us over time… it’s powerful to see them really loosen up and express themselves in our sessions through dance.’

Our Healthy Hearts project is about more than health; it’s about building community, and increasing confidence to improve overall health.

Stay connected with Afrocats on social media, or drop us a message and find out more about our projects supporting global majority communities - let’s move together, grow stronger, and keep everyone’s’ hearts healthy.