The Longtom (1/2) Marathon For Charity! (Again!)

Yep.  I am at it again.  I am doing this charity fund-raising half-marathon here in South Africa again this year.  The race is on Saturday March 27^th.  Last year I ran most of the 21.1 km race (and walked the other bit) with some fellow Peace Corps Volunteers here in South Africa and collectively we raised nearly $15,000 dollars for the KLM Foundation.  I only have 6 months left of service here in South Africa and as my time winds down, I am returning to an activity which was a highlight of my service thus far in South Africa.

I am doing this race again for a couple of reasons:

First, it is clearly a worthwhile cause.  The money goes to supporting a student in a direct way.  This is not just clothing or a meal to a student (though those items are often needed here as well).  This money goes to a carefully selected student from an impoverished rural village in South Africa and sends them to an elite private “secondary school.”  (High School).  Once a year, the KLM Foundation selects one such student and provides them with the money to attend this private boarding school for 5 years. And as an added extension, Uplands College continues to connect and communicate with the rural village for sustained betterment during the years of the student’s enrollment.  The end result is that the student receives opportunities that were simply impossible prior to the award and the community receives attention.  Last year, we raised the money to send Lehlogonolo Mphatseni to Uplands College.  Like all the previous recipients, Lehlogonolo or “Joy” underwent aptitude tests, emotional assessments, and interviews.  She was selected from nearly 200 nominated applicants.

Second, the race is fun!  Where I live in South Africa, I spend most of my time in a rural village which is insanely hot.  Although I get to see some of the volunteers who are placed relatively) near me once or twice a month, I rarely get to see the other volunteers placed throughout the country.  Weeks in the village without indulgent verbal English interactions can produce longing.  The Longtom Marathon is a great way to see a bunch of my Peace Corps Volunteer friends and do something productive!  Last year I took my camera along for the run and snapped some memorable photos.  I will do it again this year.

I blogged about this event last year – both before and after the race.  It has been (and will be) the only time I ask for money over the blog.  But the money is not for me – it is for a worthwhile student.  And donated money from the states goes a long way here.  Right now, the exchange rate is about 7.5 South African rand per 1 US Dollar.  (To give an idea, my host family receives 300 rand a month to house me here).  I need to raise a minimum of $100 US Dollars this year to participate in the event.  I will again be donating money myself but on a salary of approximately $225 US Dollars a month (for food, transport, phone, Internet, etc), $100 is steep.  Plus $100 is just the minimum.  Last year, I raised $175.  (Thanks again to those of you who donated!).  I will again send out homemade postcards to you after the race if you make a donation.  I need the donations by race day – which is Saturday March 27^th.  When I am trying to reach $100, any amount is helpful.  And anyway – I hear the economy in the US is great right now so I figure this is as good a time as any!

I wrote about my involvement in this race (both before and after) here on my blog.  So if you are interested in reading my tales from last year – scroll below and check them out.

There is much more info about the race, the past recipients, and Uplands College over at the KLM Website which is (conveniently) where you go to make a donation.  It is here: http://www.klm-foundation.org/.  To donate – please go there and click on the “donate” picture in the top right.  When donating, please make sure to put my name in the white box where it asks for the Longtom person you want to sponsor.  If you want to donate by check, you can do that as well and there is info about doing this on the donation page.

Thanks so much for your support of me, and especially for supporting the child who is chosen next year to attend Uplands.  If you are not able to donate at this time, that is of course okay as well.  Thanks for reading this blog!  And as I did last year, I most definitely will update this blog after the race to document how the weekend goes.

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Some Links for more info:

http://www.klm-foundation.org/ (KLM Foundation for Donations and Info)
http://www.uplands.mpu.co.za/ (Uplands College where recipients attend)
http://www.longtominfo.co.za/ (The Longtom Marathon Site)

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~ by Andrew Bernish on February 16, 2010.