Simultaneous 5K Races in Rwanda and Colorado Springs

On Aug. 2, 2008, nearly 400 participants in Colorado Springs and 100 runners in Kibali, Rwanda, competed in simultaneous 5K races as part of the inaugural Run for Rwanda. Thanks in part to the efforts of everyone involved in those races, the 12,000 residents of Kibali, a desperately impoverished rural region of this mountainous African nation, are gaining access to healthcare and other opportunities that were previously unknown to them.

The 2009 Run for Rwanda, to be held Saturday, Aug. 1 in Cottonwood Creek Park—and simultaneously in Kibali, Rwanda—will build on that success as it continues to fund construction of the Kibali Health Clinic and other development programs for needy Rwandans. It is open to runners and walkers of all levels.

“We were overwhelmed by the turnout for last year’s run and are excited about what involving even more people this year could mean for the people of Kibali,” said Steve Flannery, Run for Rwanda race director. “When talking with people in the local running community last year, we were repeatedly advised that we should consider our race a success if it attracted 100 runners. When we ran out of race numbers and had to close registration at around 370 runners so we could start the race—and there were still unregistered runners waiting in line—we couldn’t have been more grateful for the response. Clearly the plight of the Rwandan people, who are so inspirationally striving to recover from the devastation of the infamous 1994 genocide and to rise from staggering poverty, struck a chord in the hearts of many in our community. People seized this opportunity to help make a tangible difference while running side-by-side, in a personal way, with the brave people they were helping.

“In fact, it’s amazing how the opportunity to help others while doing something good for one’s own health has the power to attract even unlikely participants. This year, a team of four clients from the Springs Rescue Mission’s addiction recovery program—at the encouragement of their counselor—is training for the race and raising pledges for the people of Kibali. This serves as a great reminder that no matter what our circumstances or personal needs, we can still make a positive impact on others—and in doing so, we often receive less tangible but even more valuable benefits ourselves. We want the Run for Rwanda to raise local awareness of the needs and recent progress in Rwanda and to provide a meaningful way for people to contribute to that progress—all in the context of a morning of fun and challenge for runners and walkers on both continents.”

Due to extreme poverty (most Rwandans survive as subsistence farmers on less than $1 per day) the majority of Rwandans have no access to medical care (there is only one doctor for every 50,000 residents and average life expectancy is just 47). Thanks in part to the $18,000 raised by last year’s Run for Rwanda, however, the people of Kibali now have a partially completed clinic with three full-time nurses staffing its HIV/AIDS and maternity wings. (In the past month and a half that the maternity wing has been open, 30 babies have been delivered who otherwise would have likely entered the world in the unsanitary confines of their mud-brick and dirt-floor homes). This year’s run will help fund the clinic’s hospitalization and pharmacy wings. Those who make financial pledges to Run for Rwanda participants can also choose to contribute to secondary school scholarships for students who otherwise could not afford to attend school or to purchase livestock for impoverished Kibali families.
The theme of this year’s run “Two Continents, One Finish Line” emphasizes the unity of both purpose—combating poverty and its devastating effects—and of location. Though Colorado Springs and Kibali are 8,000 miles apart, the two locations are actually at very similar elevations, and like Colorado, Rwanda—known as the “land of a thousand hills—is known for its spectacular mountain beauty.

“We think the Run for Rwanda offers a unique way to address some of our Rwandan friends’ greatest needs.” Flannery said. “Many people want to help the needy but are skeptical about whether their contributions will really reach the intended recipients or about whether their contributions will do any good. With this event, we are able to contribute directly to programs run by Rwandan leaders we know and trust and who are familiar with their community’s needs and how to meet them. But this event also offers a way for those benefiting to participate. Rather than just being passive recipients, they are affirming that this is a partnership by holding their own race. The Colorado Springs runners won’t just be sending money to anonymous beneficiaries – they will joining with fellow runners in a race against the devastating effects of poverty.”

The Colorado Springs event offers participants team divisions, a barefoot runner division, a 1K fun run for children 10 and under, live African music, authentic African handicrafts for prizes and purchase, and information booths where attendees can learn more about Rwanda and how to help the needy there. There will also be live communication throughout the event between race officials in Colorado Springs and in Rwanda, providing each other updates on their respective races.

Run for Rwanda Fact Sheet:

Start Time: 8 a.m. (registration and packet pick-up open at 6:30 a.m.) Free children’s 1K fun run starts @
9:30.
Cost: $20 (before Aug. 25); $30 on race day. Under 18 is $5 ($15 with T-shirt). Children’s fun run
is free ($10 with T-shirt).
Location: Cottonwood Creek Park (intersection of Dublin Blvd. and Rangewood Dr.)
Prizes: First place male and female finisher. First place barefoot runner. Top three finishers in each of
seven age groups (for males and females). First place team in each of three divisions. Top
individual and team fundraisers.
Team scoring: Combined times of top three finishers. Co-ed team is combined time of top male and female
finishers, plus the team’s next fastest finishers of either gender. Maximum of 7 per team.
Registration: On-line registration through active.com. Mail-in forms available at runforrwanda.org.
Brochures available at Boulder Running Co., Colorado Springs Running Co., Runner’s Roost,
and Fitness Together.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How did the Run for Rwanda originate?
Several members of the International Anglican Church of Colorado Springs (IAC) visited Rwanda in the summer of 2008. Some runners in our group began many days running with Rwandan locals. While there and after returning, church members worked with Rwandan community leaders we had established relationships with to develop ways we could contribute to efforts they are making to address the devastating effects of poverty on their region. The idea of the race emerged as a way to join with our Rwandan friends in addressing some of their most- urgent needs while raising awareness here at home. The young man who organizes the Rwandan leg of the race was one of our running partners while in the country.

How can you guarantee that 100% of proceeds go directly to the designated need?
The International Anglican Church of Colorado Springs, which hosts the Run for Rwanda, has both formal and personal relationships with its sister church in Rwanda. The Run for Rwanda is being organized and staffed entirely by volunteers. Regular church employees, who are paid from the church’s operating budget, process the funds. The same is true of those processing funds and conducting programs in Rwanda. Contributions from corporate sponsors far exceed the costs of holding the event. Therefore, all contributions can be applied directly to the needs they are contributed for.

How can we be sure the health clinic and other programs are really helping needy people?
The programs this race is benefiting have been planned in close cooperation with Rwandan church and community leaders. Building the health clinic, offering secondary school scholarships, and promoting economic development through providing livestock to impoverished families address Rwandan leaders’ top priorities. In addition, these programs are administered by locals who have an intimate knowledge of both the needs and the beneficiaries. Finally, IAC leaders and members communicate regularly with (and periodically visit) the Rwandans they are working with, allowing them to build open and trusting relationships.

How serious are the needs?
When visiting Rwanda, IAC members met a woman whose face on one side had swelled to three times normal size. The cause? She had had a tooth abscess that went untreated and spread into the jaw and eventually her whole face. In addition to the emotional difficulty of living with such disfigurement, she was in constant physical pain. IAC members were able to provide funds for her to receive surgery, but her long-term prospects are still uncertain. If there had been a health clinic where she could have been treated with simple antibiotics for the original abscess, nearly all of this suffering could have been avoided. This type of scenario is repeated daily. Simple health problems become unnecessarily serious, and serious health problems are simply hopeless without decent medical care.

In addition, education and economic development are desperately needed – and go hand in hand. The average Rwandan lives on less than $1 per day, and most cannot afford schooling past grade six (which is when free, government-funded education stops). These are key components to creating a stable society. Genocides and civil wars rarely happen among prosperous and well-educated people.

Aren’t people killing each other in Rwanda?
An estimated one million people were slaughtered in about three months during the Rwandan genocide that began in April 1994. But the country is currently considered one of the safest in Africa. The reconciliation that has taken place in the past decade between the majority Hutus and the minority Tutsis (who comprised most of the genocide victims) has been miraculous – and the government, the church, and average citizens continue to strive to heal and rebuild from their country’s tragic past. An example of the type of reconciliation IAC members encountered – which is fairly common in Rwanda – was a family whose husband/father had been killed in the genocide and whose house had been partially destroyed. After the war, as restitution, the man who killed the father rebuilt the house, where the family still lives. Inconceivably to most outsiders, many Rwandan victims’ families today live side-by-side with their family members’ murderers in forgiveness and friendship.