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Conor Dempsey is running the Copenhagen Marathon (and his mum, Colette, is walking the same distance over 3 days) to help the charity STEKAskills build a desperately needed women’s hostel in Malawi.
STEKAskills is a grassroots Malawian-led charity that endeavours to tackle the huge inequalities and poverty faced, particularly by women, in that country. Malawi is the fourth poorest country in the world, with 70 percent of its population living on less than $2.15 a day; only 1% of people can go to college, and only 11% can complete primary school. So however ambitious they are, most people can’t get the skills they need to get work and can become vulnerable to traffickers. The volunteers who run STEKAskils have campaigned tirelessly to help build a STEKA Centre for Vocational Skills and Community Enterprise, so that people living in poverty can develop the skills they need to live sustainable, independent lives.
But gender inequality and systematic abuse have prevented a number of women from being able to complete training at the Centre This can be solved by building a women's hostel where women can live safely together whilst they study and develop their confidence and ambition to gain the skills they need to sustain themselves and their children.
Colette visited Malawi in 2019 and saw firsthand what an impact is being made by STEKAskills there. Her experience has motivated Conor to support the women’s hostel through his marathon run. Colette is raising funds through her walk and more fundraising initiatives through St John’s and Mary Magdelene churches and Portobello.
The world-renowned annual Copenhagen Marathon takes place this year on 5 May 2024. Connor Dempsey and Colette are undertaking their heroic feat especially for STEKAskills, in support of the building and operating of a woman’s hostel In Blantyre, Malawi.
And you can find out more about STEKAskills’ campaign for a women's hostel on the website: