RUNNING IN UGANDA
A WINNERSH woman is putting her best foot forward to help children in an African orphanage.
Christine Callaghan, 58, is taking part in the Uganda International Marathon in June.
And she is asking people in Wokingham to support her by donating unwanted running shoes.
Christine, whose son Mark is the Uganda Marathon running coach, is also looking for people to sponsor her with all money raised going to an orphanage in the town of Masaka.
The grandmother of five says she is looking forward to the race in June which attracts runners from all over the world.
“I will be going to Uganda at the end of May to volunteer at the orphanage which is called the House of Love and Hope,” she explained.
“I have done the London marathon but I will probably only do half the Uganda one. As well as raising money for the orphanage, I want to take out as many pairs of running shoes as possible.
“Athletic equipment out there is not readily available and where it is, very expensive so locals tend to run in loafers, flip flops or barefoot.
“I am urging people to donate old running shoes that are still in good condition.”
Christine has been volunteering and fundraising for over 50 years and carried the Olympic Torch in 2012 when she also volunteered as a Games Maker at the London Olympics as well as the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014, and the Pan American Games in Toronto 2015.
She volunteers at the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) coffee shop in Wokingham Hospital, and drives elderly residents to doctor and hospital appointments for the Volunteer Centre.
“If people do not have any running shoes but would like to help children in Uganda, the House of Love and Hope works to make sure that no children go hungry at school, by providing free school meals to disadvantaged pupils.
“To feed one pupil for a whole school term costs £6.60. This will provide the pupil with a basic school breakfast of porridge and a lunch of maize flour and beans. That means in order to do this for 95 pupils, year in year out, they need to sustainably raise £634 every three months.”
Running shoes can be taken to Timpson outlets in Market Place, Tesco Car Park, Wokingham and Sainsbury’s Car Park, Winnersh.
To sponsor Christine, go to: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/christinecallaghan