Over 8,000 people walk to Kandy (virtually) with ayubo.life’s W2K Challenge

Over 8,000 people downloaded the smart phone health and fitness App Ayubo.Life, to participate in the 115 kilometre Walk to Kandy (W2K) taking 170,234 steps across 25 days. The 30-day public virtual walkathon, flagged off a month ago, culminates on World Health Day which falls on Saturday 7 April. 

W2K tagged as the most rewarding ‘virtual walkathon’ to-date, dished out 15,000 prizes that the virtual walkers uncovered as ‘treasures’. An initiative to encourage the walking habit and thereby incentivise fitness, W2K will reward participants who completed the virtual trip and one among them will be a lucky Rs. 1 million prize winner. 

W2K walkathon promised exciting rewards upon successful completion of each stage of the walk and to-date 15,000 prizes have been won. 70% of the participants were between the ages of 25 and 45 with some very enthusiastic ‘walkers’ describing their journey as ‘quite an experience’. 

Among them was Basil Devadason who said, “But walking is something I do regularly – and I love it. Thanks Ayubo.Life for an amazing experience. Looking forwards to more”. “Great sense of achievement. Enjoyed every step of the way....happy to participate in a worthy cause” were the sentiments expressed by Rangitha Jayatilleke while Lakshani Fernando texted that it was ‘quite fun being a part of this!!’

Eric Perera stated, “Feeling great after completing W2K in 17 days”. A compelling message was from Rev. Srilal Karunaratna, who messaged, “Good Morning & wish you all a healthy life. Dear Friends, please keep on doing this even though you completed it, because a healthy mind is a healthy body. God Bless you. Thank you guys of Ayubo.Life, including the organisers. I admire your effort”.

Vianee Senanayake upbeat about her experience, messaged “We all know health is a priority in life. But sometimes we tend to forget it or put off doing anything about it. It’s only after someone/something triggers it that we start doing something about out health. This is exactly what Ayubo.Life has done for me. Starting out an exercise routine with this challenge, has brought about a habit to walk daily, which I keenly look forward to now. My day is incomplete now if I miss the walk! THANK YOU AYUBO. LIFE!”

Ayubo.Life Director and Chief Operating Dr. Chamila Ariyananda speaking on the success of the initial walkathon said, “Participation was unprecedented and the enthusiasm has been heartwarming. This alone is such an achievement for us.”

She went on to add that an exciting, new adventure will be revealed to the app users shortly, which will be even more challenging, with part proceeds to an even greater cause, details of which will be announced on World Health Day.

“I am confident that W2K, which started off as a true representation of a larger, national goal of controlling the increase of non-communicable diseases through health and fitness will become a way of life for most,” she added.

Part proceeds of W2K, amounting to Rs. 5 million is for the Ayati Trust Sri Lanka, a charitable trust incorporated between the University of Kelaniya, Hemas Holdings and MAS Holdings.

Ayubo.life is a lifestyle, health and fitness app, providing a comprehensive platform for all who need to stay healthy. 

It connects multiple healthcare services, stores family medical records, facilitates on-demand consultations with doctors on video, keeps a record of workouts, while partnering with experts in the wellness industry to provide online wellness solutions. Ayubo.life is owned and operated by Digital Healthcare Solutions Ltd., a company funded and supported by Hemas Holdings PLC.