Seven months ago, Street Child hosted their annual marathon in Sierra Leone. It boasted 1,000 runners including 120 from the UK and abroad, and raised £400,000 for the charity. What it didn’t anticipate was that it would be their last marathon for some time.
The first case of Ebola was announced on the actual day of the race, 25th May 2014. Although this didn’t have any affect on the marathon itself, it certainly changed what followed.
The plan for this marathon, as it had been for its predecessors, was to use the money raised to enable education for children living on the streets in West Africa. The money would also be invested in schools to either build new ones or make the existing ones more creative.
Ebola changed all that. Greg Harris, Marathon Director, said: “All the places we were seven months ago are locked down now”.
Street Child became aware that there were no provisions being provided for children in those locked down areas, and immediately shifted their focus.
“What Street Child have done, are assisting orphans affected by the Ebola crisis” said Greg.
He went on to say: “Nobody knew how big the outbreak was going to be. It took everyone by surprise.”
That £400,000 raised by the marathon runners is now helping Street Child support close to 8,000 children by Ebola, providing humanitarian packages, containing food and clothing, counseling and resetting them with a family member.
When asked on the chances of a 2015 marathon, Greg said: “It’s very unlikely there will be a marathon event in 2015.”
However, Greg was full of praise of the marathon and spoke of its experience: “When the time does come, I would encourage people to come and have the same experience. All to support the work of Street Child. It is exotic, adventurous and good fun, but at the same time it is for a really good cause.”
