Lisa Ellwood
KABUBBU 10K RUN - UGANDA
Fundraising for Quicken Trust
Story
KABUBBU 10km RUN - UGANDA - 4TH NOVEMBER 2004
UPDATE:
On 4th November, Ibrahim was the undisputed winner! He bravely led our team from start to finish and set the pace for the next 13 km along the hot jungle tracks. Our team was composed of the following: Ibrahim's guardian Jamil, Ugandan Olympian runners Boniface Kiprop and Paskal Owor, four other Ugandan athlets, five teachers of Kabubbu school, Martin West of Eastbourne, UK and myself.
Ibrahim amazed everyone by his steady pace and endurance. Neither the hills nor the scorching sun slowed him down. He soon distanced himself from the amateurs and flanked by the professional runners, finished victoriously amongst the deafening cheers of his 274 fellow pupils! Newspaper reporters and the Ugandan WBS television team were eagerly waiting for him at the finish line too and hailed him as a future star of Ugandan athletics.
Ibrahim's outstanding achievement deserves recognition. The run was hard going; 13 km, as it turned out to be in the heat and dust, was not easy I can assure you. Yet Ibrahim agreed to the gruelling task willingly in order to assist the poorest of his community.
The run is now over, but Ibrahim and I continue to seek support to create decent housing for the most impoverished families of Kabubbu. It is not too late to show Ibrahim that you appreciate his commitment and efforts. Ibrahim would be overjoyed if you could, with your contribution, help him create a much brighter future for his people. We both thank you wholeheartedly for your generous support. ================= Ibrahim,12, is an orphan of Uganda. Ibrahim is going to run 10 kilometres in Kabubbu where he lives in order to raise funds for his community. He is seeking sponsors for the run, who are willing to share with him the making of a brighter future for the most impoverished people of Kabubbu. Last March I visited Ibrahim in Kabubbu, Uganda where he lives. I've been sponsoring him for the past one and a half years so that he can attend school every day. Ibrahim has courageously agreed to take part with me in the 10k run in order to raise funds for the provision of decent housing for families living in the most destitute conditions. A two roomed brick built house costs only £750- and makes a world of difference to those who lived before in dwellings we would not consider fit for our own pets. Case study Jenny is 28 years old and her husband died of AIDS three years ago. She has to raise her three children alone and struggled to find the £1.25 monthly rent for her bamboo and mud home. Heavy rains destroyed this shelter and her neighbours, also destitute themselves, helped her to construct a new one. This new shelter is made of corrugated tin, mud, wood and straw and provides little protection from the rain or vermin. Inside, Jenny and the children sleep on straw-covered ground with only a sheet to cover them. There is no furniture and only a few essential cooking pots. Because the home is rented, there is no garden to grow vegetables to enable Jenny to feed herself and her children. In the wet season when the ground is soft Jenny works hard digging for others who can afford to pay her. For this work she may make £3 a week for only 20 weeks a year if she is lucky. The only advantage that Jenny has is her young age which enables her to work. Her meagre earnings are not enough to pay rent and keep a home in a good state of repair. A two-roomed brick built house seems to be not much by western standards. But to Jenny and the other residents of Kabubbu such a home is considered to be a luxury. All the building work for new homes will be organised and supervised by the UK charity The Quicken Trust. The Quicken Trust has in the last 5 years built a community primary school, a library, a health centre and, with the support of British Airways, provided also a clean water supply for the whole community of Kabubbu. I have seen with my own eyes the destitute conditions in which some of the people live. I can assure you that a leak-proof and vermin-free home brings so much relief and comfort, albeit still very basic, into their lives. I hope that, like myself and Ibrahim, you will be the source of their newfound happiness. Boniface Kiprop, the 20 year-old Ugandan holding the 10k Junior World Championship, kindly agreed to join our fundraising efforts by participating in the run. Needless to say, I am already shaking in my trainers at the prospect of running 10k in under 28 minutes! Luckily, Boniface is a very kind hearted young man and agreed to make allowance for my "snail's pace". Besides, we have to remember that Ibrahim is only 12 and we all want him to be able to cross the finish line as our very special youngest champion. On behalf of the entire community of Kabubbu, Ibrahim and I would like to thank you warmly for your anticipated interest and sponsorship. We are very much looking forward to updating you after the event. We will certainly have a story to tell! Isabelle Gravenstein
UPDATE:
On 4th November, Ibrahim was the undisputed winner! He bravely led our team from start to finish and set the pace for the next 13 km along the hot jungle tracks. Our team was composed of the following: Ibrahim's guardian Jamil, Ugandan Olympian runners Boniface Kiprop and Paskal Owor, four other Ugandan athlets, five teachers of Kabubbu school, Martin West of Eastbourne, UK and myself.
Ibrahim amazed everyone by his steady pace and endurance. Neither the hills nor the scorching sun slowed him down. He soon distanced himself from the amateurs and flanked by the professional runners, finished victoriously amongst the deafening cheers of his 274 fellow pupils! Newspaper reporters and the Ugandan WBS television team were eagerly waiting for him at the finish line too and hailed him as a future star of Ugandan athletics.
Ibrahim's outstanding achievement deserves recognition. The run was hard going; 13 km, as it turned out to be in the heat and dust, was not easy I can assure you. Yet Ibrahim agreed to the gruelling task willingly in order to assist the poorest of his community.
The run is now over, but Ibrahim and I continue to seek support to create decent housing for the most impoverished families of Kabubbu. It is not too late to show Ibrahim that you appreciate his commitment and efforts. Ibrahim would be overjoyed if you could, with your contribution, help him create a much brighter future for his people. We both thank you wholeheartedly for your generous support. ================= Ibrahim,12, is an orphan of Uganda. Ibrahim is going to run 10 kilometres in Kabubbu where he lives in order to raise funds for his community. He is seeking sponsors for the run, who are willing to share with him the making of a brighter future for the most impoverished people of Kabubbu. Last March I visited Ibrahim in Kabubbu, Uganda where he lives. I've been sponsoring him for the past one and a half years so that he can attend school every day. Ibrahim has courageously agreed to take part with me in the 10k run in order to raise funds for the provision of decent housing for families living in the most destitute conditions. A two roomed brick built house costs only £750- and makes a world of difference to those who lived before in dwellings we would not consider fit for our own pets. Case study Jenny is 28 years old and her husband died of AIDS three years ago. She has to raise her three children alone and struggled to find the £1.25 monthly rent for her bamboo and mud home. Heavy rains destroyed this shelter and her neighbours, also destitute themselves, helped her to construct a new one. This new shelter is made of corrugated tin, mud, wood and straw and provides little protection from the rain or vermin. Inside, Jenny and the children sleep on straw-covered ground with only a sheet to cover them. There is no furniture and only a few essential cooking pots. Because the home is rented, there is no garden to grow vegetables to enable Jenny to feed herself and her children. In the wet season when the ground is soft Jenny works hard digging for others who can afford to pay her. For this work she may make £3 a week for only 20 weeks a year if she is lucky. The only advantage that Jenny has is her young age which enables her to work. Her meagre earnings are not enough to pay rent and keep a home in a good state of repair. A two-roomed brick built house seems to be not much by western standards. But to Jenny and the other residents of Kabubbu such a home is considered to be a luxury. All the building work for new homes will be organised and supervised by the UK charity The Quicken Trust. The Quicken Trust has in the last 5 years built a community primary school, a library, a health centre and, with the support of British Airways, provided also a clean water supply for the whole community of Kabubbu. I have seen with my own eyes the destitute conditions in which some of the people live. I can assure you that a leak-proof and vermin-free home brings so much relief and comfort, albeit still very basic, into their lives. I hope that, like myself and Ibrahim, you will be the source of their newfound happiness. Boniface Kiprop, the 20 year-old Ugandan holding the 10k Junior World Championship, kindly agreed to join our fundraising efforts by participating in the run. Needless to say, I am already shaking in my trainers at the prospect of running 10k in under 28 minutes! Luckily, Boniface is a very kind hearted young man and agreed to make allowance for my "snail's pace". Besides, we have to remember that Ibrahim is only 12 and we all want him to be able to cross the finish line as our very special youngest champion. On behalf of the entire community of Kabubbu, Ibrahim and I would like to thank you warmly for your anticipated interest and sponsorship. We are very much looking forward to updating you after the event. We will certainly have a story to tell! Isabelle Gravenstein