Why run for congo?
The conflict in the east of the Congo has been described as the deadliest in the world since WWII with an estimated 5.4 million dead (2.7 million of them children), over 9000 people were raped in the Kivu province alone last year and in the first three months of 2010 115,000 lost their homes.
Despite this the Democratic Republic of Congo receives very little coverage in the UK and awareness of this deadly conflict remains low amongst people in the UK
I want to change this.
Through 2010 i have embarked on a mission to try and make people in the UK aware of the conflict in the Congo. To do this i am attempting to run 12 marathons in 12 months, one of these marathons will be ran in the Congo itself.
It’s a silly idea, but hopefully by pushing my body to its limits i’ll be able to make a few people aware of the conflict in the DRC.
Wow! Thanks for doing this! Be sure to be careful when you do your marathon Congo.
You might consider sending in a letter to the editor of Runners World (a US publication) to let them know what you are up to! Runners World’s August issue has a 7 page article called “A Magnificent Mile” on the Bukavu Run for Congo Women! A very inspiring article.
And if you have on Facebook, you should definitely be one of the 1st Thousand Sisters, a new FB group dedicated to ending the violence in Congo … (guys are sisters, too!) Check it out!
You are beautiful!
Thanks Ann. Do you have a contact at Runners World US that i should send it to? If so drop me an email and i’ll follow up with them!
Thank you!
[...] Why run for congo? [...]
thank you Chris. I too am running for Congo! I am going to run my ass of as you would say in NYC on 9/25 in Run for Congo. You are really inspiring me!!