Every single night for the last 3 nights, I’ve had a running related dream, sometimes nightmare, because on Sunday, I take part in my first ever half marathon. I haven’t trained well, but pulling out isn’t an option. See the interview below done by Kirsty of Vision Africa on why I am running for more than one good cause:
What fundraising challenge are you doing? I am running the 21km Standard Chartered Half Marathon for the Seed of Hope Project. The proceeds will go towards sponsoring girls who have finished the 2 year dress making course, and need capital to start their own dressmaking businesses. Taking it further, I will personally mentor and coach those girls on business expertise to ensure that they have the tools they need to succeed, not just the money.
What makes this challenging enough that people should dig deep and sponsor you? For me, this is also a personal challenge. In 2010, I was involved in an accident that badly injured both of my legs. It took me about a year to recover, and even then, my surgeon was very categorical that I shouldn’t attempt to run for the rest of my life. He said I should consider myself lucky to be walking.
But I’m stubborn, and running keeps me sane. So I painfully went back on the road in January this year, running just 400 metres a week (which I would pay for dearly during the week as my legs would hurt continuously thereafter). 3 weeks ago, I did a 15km walk/ run, and I decided I would do a 21km walk/ run because to me doing this marathon represents achieving something that wasn’t conventionally achievable.
In the same way, these girls aren’t expected to succeed by society. By supporting them, we are giving them that chance to one day stand on a podium and speak about making it despite all odds.
Why did you choose to support Vision Africa? I like the work VA is doing all over the country, and in particular with the Seed of Hope girls because the focus is not on giving grants, but creating sustainable solutions for the community.
You’ve opted to run to raise funds for our Seed of Hope graduates’ business start-up capital. Why do you think this is important? I think start up capital will shorten the time between training to having a steady income stream for the girls, which I believe will shorten the drop off rate: that is girls who get the training, but don’t succeed because of distractions while trying to raise money.
What do you hope to achieve by participating in this event? *chuckle* first, I hope to finish the marathon in under 5 hours (after 5 hours the stragglers bus takes you home 
), but I also just hope to give a gift that keeps on giving for years to come, and of course you can help me do this by sponsoring me.
Any message to potential sponsors? We often times under estimate what it takes to change the world, it doesn’t take millions of dollars (of course the millions wouldn’t hurt), it just takes a willing heart and a bit of sacrifice. The best thing about giving is that it leaves us better than it found us. Give a bit of your time, and money today, you won’t regret it.
We wish Kellie all the very best of luck with her run on Sunday. I’m going to sponsor her the money I would have paid as my race entry fee as I’m completely inspired by her determination. If you are also inspired and would like to sponsor Kellie you can send donations via M-PESA to 0702662351 if you are in Kenya or donate online from overseas. Please let us know you have donated so that we can allocate your sponsorship to Kellie’s chosen project.
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