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chasingKIMBIA Auction for Education
chasingKIMBIA Auction for Education
chasingKIMBIA is excited to announce the Auction for Education and to formally introduce The KIMbia Foundation. Our hope is to raise awareness about the current state of education in Kenya and to offer people an opportunity to get involved. The Daily Run - "What Can I Do?" "So what do you think?" Tom asked. We were standing along a dirt road on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado. The athletes had just breezed past us at the 20-kilometer mark. Five more to go. "They look great," I answered, assuming he was referring to the workout we were watching. "No, I mean about the project. What do you think about this whole experience?" Caught off guard by the question, I stumbled on my own words. Something about "it's been a lot of fun" and "I hope the guys run well." But now, with months of reflection behind me, I can try to verbalize it better. It had been one of the greatest experiences of my life. For the past two months I had lived with some of the greatest marathon runners in the world. I got to experience firsthand their dedication, passion, and curiosity. I listened to Charles tell me how hard it was to leave his family behind. I tried to sympathize with Ben when he told me he couldn't wait to get home to see his wife and three kids. And I tried to explain to Baba why the workers at Wal-Mart were old . It was, in a word, life-altering. (Or is that two words? I never know with the hyphen...) It certainly changed my perception of Kenyan athletes. I now realize that they aren't superhuman running machines who simply show up on race day and win. They train hard. Man, do they train hard. They make sacrifices that many athletes would never consider. They win and they lose. They struggle with loneliness, homesickness, financial stress, and injury. Just like the rest of us. This, I thought at the time, was an experience that could never be topped. "I ask because I wanted to see if you'd be interested in doing it again next year from Kenya," Tom continued as we hopped back into Dieter's car. We were three weeks away from the 2006 Chicago Marathon. I was just getting my feet wet with this whole blogumentary thing and had my own doubts about being able to keep up the pace for the remaining weeks of this season. But I didn't hesitate. "Yea, that sounds fun." So elegant, I know... Fast forward to today. Only three weeks remain in our second season and without a doubt my experience from season one has been topped. Visiting Kenya wasn't even on my radar last year. Now I'll be making regular trips to the country I once knew only for distance running. It is a land of contradiction. Where there's poverty, there's happiness. People who need, want to give. Beautiful vistas ruined by large quantities of litter. A push for unity, but resistance to abandon tribal allegiances. But perhaps the biggest paradox: - 10,000 teachers enter the workforce each year, but only 3,000 jobs are available. - Only 24% of Kenyan children attend high school. In other words, there are teachers who want to teach and children who want to learn, but their paths diverge. When Tom asked me to travel to Kenya for season two of chasingKIMBIA, I didn't hesitate. What running fan wouldn't want the opportunity to visit the greatest distance running nation in the world? I had my reservations about safety and thought about pulling out when I saw the laundry list of vaccinations required. But in the end, I boarded a plane from Boston to Nairobi with one goal - to capture distance running on the clay roads of Iten. To say that I was shocked when we arrived would be an gross understatement. The poverty and living conditions were like nothing I had ever experienced. Call me sheltered or insular, but the truth is that my upbringing simply never exposed me to conditions like that. People lived in mud huts and went to the bathroom through a hole in the ground. The floor of my hotel room was made out of concrete for crying out loud. It was textbook culture shock. But as the days passed, I paid less attention to my own feelings of uncomfortableness and more attention to my surroundings. We met so many people with so many interesting stories. It was hard to keep my head straight. We visited the athletes at their homes, away from the training camp and away from running. We played with their kids and walked their farms. I met the wife and three kids that Ben couldn't wait to see. And I understood why . I slept in the house that Charles found so hard to leave. And I understood why . We visited schools with the most beautiful children, dressed in colorful school uniforms. We talked to the teachers, who told us that the kids were motivated, disciplined, and bright. But then we learned that most of them won't finish high school. Their families can't afford the fees. I met Cynderella, Edith and a slew of other children whose education is in doubt. Here we take education for granted. In Kenya they consider it hope. I met a young man named Gideon at the lookout 200 meters from our hotel. I was recovering from my malaria scare and thought a walk outside would help. I spent an hour sitting on a rock, overlooking the Rift Valley, talking to this young unemployed teacher. He had finished his teacher training a year early and was still searching for a job. He knew more about American current events than I probably did. He asked about Hilary versus Barack. He was pulling for Barack since his father was Kenyan. He asked if there were opportunities to teach in America. "It's competitive, but there are certainly opportunities," I told him. He shook his head as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "I wish I could go there," he whispered. As we were leaving after a hard workout at the track, Godfrey stopped the car to talk to a friend standing along the dirt road leaving Kamariny Stadium. As they laughed and joked in Swahili, a woman approached the car and asked Godfrey for a ride into town. "Of course," he said. "Jump in." The woman had the most terrible cough, but would politely turn to us in the back seat and smile shyly. "I'm sorry," she would say. Godfrey and her carried on a conversation in Swahili for most of the drive. She thanked us and apologized again when we let her off near the post office. "That's so sad," Godfrey said after she shut the door. "She is dying of AIDS and was just diagnosed with cancer. She has two young boys and can't afford to send them to school anymore. The headmaster sent them home because their fees weren't paid." I turned back and saw this young, but frail woman walking across the street. I wanted to jump out of the car and just grab her. Make it better. But what could I do? Running is what brought me to Kenya. Not education, not poverty, and not AIDS. But I've found out that you can't immerse yourself in Kenyan running without being exposed to the others. Throughout the trip, I found myself repeatedly asking, "What can I do?" Brother Colm put it best. "You can't aim to change the world overnight. I have seen more big ideas fall through the cracks in my 31 years here. People come, they get excited, they conceive a grand plan," he shakes his head and takes a deep breath. "But nothing gets done. If you really want to help, think small." Then his eyes widened as he leaned in towards me. It's what he does any time he's talking about something for which he has great passion. He used sharp hand gestures to make his point. "Small money for significant change." What can I do? Now I had an answer. Start small and reach out to the people who are already intimately involved in this journey. Perhaps it will spread from there. There are so many worthy causes out there, it's often hard to sort through the clutter. I've found in my own experience that in the end I give to those charities that affect me personally. Like my best friend's mother who died of ovarian cancer or my uncle who is living with AIDS. Sure, I could probably do more and give more, but if everyone helped support causes that touched them on a personal level, we'd make great strides towards curing disease, ending poverty, improving education, and generally helping those less fortunate than us. But I'm also a realist. We can't save the world overnight and we won't cure Kenya's education problems through this website. But as Brother Colm said, "Small money for significant change." We, as the running community, can make a difference. We can make significant change. So with that said, we're excited to announce the Auction for Education and to formally introduce The KIMbia Foundation. The Auction for Education Up for bid is a custom pair of KIMbia racing flats signed by Ben Maiyo and Stephen "Baba" Kiogora. This New Balance RC205 racing flat has been customized specifically for the KIMbia athletes. On the front is the KIMbia Athletics logo and on the back is the Kenyan shield. This is the same shoe that Ben and Baba will wear during the 2007 Boston Marathon. The auction has officially opened with a starting bid of $100. It will close at 9:00AM EST on April 7th. 100% of the winning bid will go to support one of the three projects listed below. Click here for more information or click here to go directly to the auction . The KIMbia Foundation The sole purpose of the KIMbia Foundation is to use its position in the world of athletics to support education in Kenya. Over the last two years the Foundation has helped many children and several school-realted projects. Many in the running community have given both their time and financial support to these causes, including Victah Sailer , Uta Pippig, and the students at Concord-Carlisle Elementary School in Massachusetts. For the last two years, the second grade class has raised money for Silgich Hill Academy and maintains a great letter exchange program with the students there. After our visit this year, we're hoping to gather even more support from the running community. Based on our trip and the experiences that touched us, we've created these three programs: 1. Sponsor a Student 2. Singore Girls Track Rehabilitation 3. Brother Colm's HIV/AIDS Training Program at Tambach Teacher's College What can you do? Let's find out --- The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization and thanks to several volunteers, we're able to pass along 100% of all contributions. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us . Thanks in advance for your generosity. And also a big thank you to the volunteers who have helped us put this together, especially Mike Horn who has worked tirelessly on this project. --- chasingKIMBIA.com is a blogumentary documenting the lifestyle and training of some of the world's best marathon runners. Season One provided an unprecedented vantage point of the highs and lows of professional running as seven athletes prepared for the Chicago and New York City marathons. Season Two brings even more excitement and deeper coverage to the sport as we travel to the training camp in Iten, Kenya where the athletes are preparing for the Boston, London, and Rotterdam marathons. This is your backstage pass. Follow the journey at www.chasingkimbia.com. Show Notes: - Music in this video comes from the podsafe music network . - "When You" by the moot - "I Know You're There" and "Every Color" by Matthew Ebel - "Wish You Well" by Anna Coogan and north19 - "See The Light" by Mangomad
Blip | March 28, 2007
