Nakapiripirit to benefit from 2013 MTN Kampala marathon
What you need to know:
Chosen. Nakapiripiriti was chosen as the beneficiary of last year’s MTN annual marathon.
KAMPALA.
Nakapiripirit District should be enjoying benefits of the MTN Kampala Marathon 2013 in just over six months after proceeds from the event were sanctified on Monday.
MTN, together with their various partners, handed over a Shs400m cheque to Water Aid, an international charity that transforms lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation, who have been tasked to implement a six-month clean water project in the Karamoja region.
The funds were part of proceeds from the 2013 Marathon, which attracted at least 20,000 participants under the theme Run For Water.
The First Lady and Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Ms Janet Museveni, blessed the function at Kampala Serena and she believes “the people of Karamoja are very deserving of this assistance”.
Ms Museveni said: “Thank you (MTN) for rallying the public to annually come together to run not only for their personal health, but to make a difference in the lives of needy people who live amongst us.”
MTN chairman Charles Mbire said: “At MTN, we do not give out of pity, but out of love.”
Nakapiripirit was decided on as a beneficiary basing on the Uganda Bureau of Statistics poverty map and primary data, which indicated that more than 80 per cent of the people in the area were living below the poverty line.
Proceeds from previous marathons have gone to the Internally Displaced People’s Camps in Gulu and to mudslide victims in Bududa.
The project
According to MTN CEO Mazen Mroue, the water component to be installed in the district include 800 bio filters in schools, eight boreholes, six cement tanks, and training four women groups in water jar construction as a way of ensuring sustainability of the project.
MTN marathons
The event. The marathon attracts broad based local and international participation, including the best runners in the region and foreign elite runners. Some take part for fun, others for charity and others compete to win.
Proceeds. The proceeds from the marathon are used for good charity causes, for example, resettling families that formerly resided in IDP camps.
