One man in five dies before the age of 65.
TOGETHER we can change that.

Welsh farmers: we speak your language

16/05/18 . News

The Men’s Health Forum are reaching out to farmers in Wales - in Welsh.

Ffit i Ffermio, the Welsh version of the popular Fit For Faming manual, is our first publication in another language. The manual is double the usual size as it includes both English and Welsh text and comes complete with all the contacts farmers in Wales might need.

The manuals, developed with the Farming Community Network and funded by Conwy Cynhaliol (Conwy Rural Partnership), will be distributed to all farm holdings in Conwy County and will also be shared with relevant organisations.

Meira Woosnam, rural enabling officer for Conwy Cynhaliol said, ‘Having seen the very good work that Farming Community Network have done in the UK, we felt it important that we did something locally in Conwy to support our agricultural sector.

‘Health and wellbeing is becoming more and more apparent in the media with the struggles of day to day life we decided to work in partnership with FCN and develop the book.’

Dafydd Jones of the Farmers Union of Wales said, ‘As an industry there are dark and difficult times, and often sharing the worry and distress with someone else is one step forward to overcome the barriers and deal with it.

‘With the help of this booklet which has extensive knowledge of where to get advice and how to try to cope with a matter whether it's personal, work or health, I hope it will benefit many.’

The project received funding through LEADER, which is part of the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, funded by the EU’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.

Launch of the manual. Left to right: Cllr Goronwy Edwards (Chair of the Conwy Local Action Group), Meira Woosnam (rural enabling officer for Conwy Cynhaliol), Dafydd Jones (Farmers Union of Wales)​

The Men’s Health Forum need your support

It’s tough for men to ask for help but if you don’t ask when you need it, things generally only get worse. So we’re asking.

In the UK, one man in five dies before the age of 65. If we had health policies and services that better reflected the needs of the whole population, it might not be like that. But it is. Policies and services and indeed men have been like this for a long time and they don’t change overnight just because we want them to.

It’s true that the UK’s men don’t have it bad compared to some other groups. We’re not asking you to ‘feel sorry’ for men or put them first. We’re talking here about something more complicated, something that falls outside the traditional charity fund-raising model of ‘doing something for those less fortunate than ourselves’. That model raises money but it seldom changes much. We’re talking about changing the way we look at the world. There is nothing inevitable about premature male death. Services accessible to all, a population better informed. These would benefit everyone - rich and poor, young and old, male and female - and that’s what we’re campaigning for.

We’re not asking you to look at images of pity, we’re just asking you to look around at the society you live in, at the men you know and at the families with sons, fathers and grandads missing.

Here’s our fund-raising page - please chip in if you can.

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  • The Men's Health Forum
  • 82 Tanner Street
  • London, SE1 3GN

Charity registered in England and Wales (no. 1087375). Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (no. 4142349).