Palapye Marathon for Maano Ditshupo Clinic
The race organisers have pledged to assist the former Zebras player to fulfill his dream of constructing a health clinic in his home village, Lechana
Former Zebras midfielder, Maano Ditshupo, in 2017 took a bold decision to erect a health facility in his home village, Lechana, which is now set to be completed this year.
Lechana is about 80 kilometres from Serowe and was mainly a cattle post but has now grown into a village.
According to the veteran Township Rollers captain, there is no medical clinic in the village and people travel to Palapye which is about 35 kilometres away to access health services.
Following years of struggle to complete the clinic, Palapye Half Marathon organizers have committed to extend some of the proceeds of their event to help Ditshupo realize his dream of building a clinic in his home village.
The Palapye Half Marathon is a national race which was initiated in the year 2016, through a registered company known as Central Sports Centre Pty Ltd.
“When I started this project, I didn’t want to spend anything from my pocket, I made this a community project so that everyone in the village is able to take part. I organized football tournaments which were used to raise funds to start the project. We are currently at the roofing level and we are hopeful
to complete it soon,” Ditshupo shared.
He said before starting the project, he reached out to relevant government institutions to ensure that upon completion, the clinic will be fully functional.
“From the onset, I engaged the Palapye DHMT ( District Health Management Team) of my plans to build a clinic and they told me that they were happy with my ideas and promised to assist with needed services once the project is complete, even at the Ministry of Health they have given me thumps- up,” he highlighted.
Ditshupo has thanked the football community for the support and the contributions former players, teammates, supporters and legends of the game have extended towards his initiative.
Event organizers of the Marathon shared that they are also looking to empower local communities, corporate entities and individuals to lead transformed lives through participation in physical sporting activities as well as to be credible game players in eradicating poverty.
According to the event organizers, the goal for this year’s race is to collaborate with Ditshupo and raise funds to aid the completion of the clinic.
“We have always had a goal when we organize this race, every year there is a target of what we want to do as a way of giving back to the community, the goal
of the marathon is always to give back. We are working with organizations in the central region to extend a helping hand to the needy and provide support. This year, we want to help Maano Ditshupo who has reached out for support to help him complete his project of building a clinic in Lechana. We have already sourced a donor for him and we are willing to add to whatever he’ll be given to make sure the project is completed; it is an important facility for the village,” the Director of Palapye Half Marathon, Moagi Rahube shared.
He said that the race, which is in its 4th edition, has grown in leaps and bounds and is happy with the progress, this year’s event is expected to attract over 2 000 participants, a 1 800 massive increase from the first edition of the race.
Rahube added that their bigger plan is to erect a Centre in Palapye which will accommodate and take care of the less privileged in the region, documents have been submitted to the Land Board for a piece of land to build their facility.
The Race is billed for Saturday 6 August 2022 in Palapye, Majestic Five Hotel with the event set to kickstart at 0630hrs after it was given the green light by Botswana Athletics Association.