Walking from Maseno to Lela

Sweat, muscles and power were needed on 25th June 2011. Maseno became the place of a special festivity for the deaf and deaf blind which has never taken place before in Kenya. The organizers mixed sports, fun and information to create a charity run to raise awareness for deaf and deaf blind people in the region. They also aimed at presenting some of their projects, as said Austine, one of the organizers: “We hope that through the event, various organizations may open their eyes to come and join hands with Kids of Maseno to improve our activities.

The event started on Saturday morning at 9:45. Elivs Kurgat, District Children Officer, fired the starter’s gun and the runners began the 10 km track through Maseno. Neighbouring schools, deaf blind and deaf children and other community members participated.

Vorträge während dem Lauf

Thanks to Safaricom Limited, Plan International and the East Africa Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, the runners could be provided with T-Shirts, drinks and small snacks.

Everyone hoped that they would gather some money to support the new children’s home but in the end, 45.000 Ksh (345 €) was just enough to cover the expenses. Nevertheless, the day was a success. Austine says that “the awareness creation on deafness and deafblindness was successful and the launching. Many people expressed their happiness for the initiative and asked us to continue working hard and not to relent.”

We would like to thank all organizers, supporters and participants and hope that many other sport events of this kind will follow.