Nonagenarian completes two 10km runs to help Syrian refugees through university
● When most are putting their feet up, Denis pounds the road for charity
Becoming a nonagenarian may signify a slower pace of life for some but for Denis Rutovitz it has led to him speeding up.
The 90-year-old aid worker has run ten kilometres twice to raise £15,000 to put Syrian twins through university.
Mr Rutovitz is chairman of humanitarian charity Edinburgh Direct Aid and celebrated his 90th birthday on 1 September.
He is trying to raise the money to see brothers Ahmed and Assad Katbeh complete a computer and forensic science degree in Lebanon.
Currently living with refugee status, the Syrian twins face potential deportation if they cannot pay for the course.
Mr Rutovitz said: “As refugees this is an impossible task. But if they don’t pay the fees, they will be deported from Lebanon and sent back to a brutal regime in Syria, to conscription into the army, or much worse.
“These boys are great, they need three years of college fees to give them a chance of a future.
“They are hard working, well behaved, deserving lads, at a turning point in their lives, which can lead either to their destruction or to a fine future.”
Racking his brains for a way to raise money, he decided that for his 90th birthday he would run 10km in Edinburgh for them.
And to cheers from supporters he completed his second challenge, covering 10 km from the city’s Silverknowes Parkway
along Cramond Promenade to the Edinburgh Direct Aid Warehouse on Western Harbour Road.
His only hope – that his athletic burst will encourage people to help secure a safe future for two young students.
“If we can raise enough to put them through college that would be the best birthday present ever,” he said.
The brothers studied at a school in Lebanon, following the Syrian curriculum,
with both achieving over 90 per cent in the baccalaureate exam.
But things began to unravel as Ahmed and Assad struggled to have their qualifications recognised to move on with further study.
After various failed attempts in Turkey and Cyprus, being refused re-settlement in Norway and being traumatically detained for two days and threatened with deportation by the Lebanese government,
they are hopeful they can now stay to study in Lebanon.
They explained some of the difficulties they have faced so far: “The UN Refugee Agency presented our file to study for resettlement, after one month they inform us that the Norwegian embassy accept our files and gave us an appointment but the day before the appointment the police arrested my brother because he did not have a resident card.
“After three weeks we receive
a message from Norwegian embassy say that our file is refused because my brother didn’t make the interview. We stayed in Lebanon and were afraid of arrest again.”
But with nearly £4,000 already raised Mr Rutovitz is hopeful he can help change the boys’ outlook.
To donate, visit www. chuffed.org.uk and search Denis Rutovitz.
“If we can raise enough to put them through college that would be the best birthday present ever” DENIS RUTOVITZ Charity fundraiser