Africa: maratona per non dimenticare



ST. JOHN SPORTS SOCIETY, KOROGOCHO (SSS)
ST. JOHN CATHOLIC CHURCH, KOROGOCHO
P.O BOX 47714  00100 G.P.O NAIROBI
MOBILE: 0733702972



22ND JULY 2005

PRESS RELEASE

‘A MARATHON FOR NOT FORGETTING’
1000 km of solidarity
(Dar Es Salaam-Nairobi from 31.07 to 07.08.2005)

A group of 13 athletes from the St. John Sports Society, Korogocho will be leaving the country for Tanzania on 31st July 2005 for a marathon. The marathon dubbed ‘a marathon for not forgetting’ has been organized by the SSS athletics department to mark this year’s 1998 Bomb blast memorial. The marathon will start on 1st August at the Dar Es Salaam Bomb blast site and end on 7th August at the Nairobi Bomb blast site at 10 a.m.. Each of the athletes will run for 15minutes in turn. The athletics will be accompanied by father Daniel Moschetti, the SSS patron and the Priest in-charge of St. John Catholic Church Korogocho, along side other SSS officials.

One may wonder the connections between the Bomb blasts which the world has experienced over the last few years and the slums where Korogocho belongs. However, terrorism is increasingly becoming an issue of global communal concern. In any case, the victims are our brothers and sisters. All of us are direct victims. The marathon will also seek to address the question of different kinds of socio-economic terrorism that Africa is subjected to due to inequities in global humanitarian and trade practices.

 The marathon is an intervention of the slums, normally despised and ignored as non-actors in addressing the problems of the world. The slums are therefore in solidarity with the globe in addressing the tragedy of terrorism. The SSS realized that the victims of the 1998 bomb blasts in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam alongside other victims were increasingly being forgotten. The previous anniversaries have been lukewarm and only attracted a few people. As a global family, each one us must participate in addressing this problem.

The SSS brings together ten different sports to tap the tremendous sporting talents present in the slums of korogocho. These include: football, volleyball, netball, basketball, tae-kwondo, karate, weight lifting, darts and athletics. It uses sports as a tool of development and peace building. It focuses on community work, spiritual and human formation programmes.


ST. JOHN SPORTS SOCIETY, KOROGOCHO (SSS)
ST. JOHN CATHOLIC CHURCH,
KOROGOCHO / KARIOBANGI
P.O BOX 47714  00100 G.P.O NAIROBI
KENYA
MOBILE: 0733702972

A marathon for not forgetting’
1000km of solidarity
Dar Es Salaam - Nairobi
31
st July to 7th august 2005

Tentative  Programme

31.07: Departure from St.John Catholic Church Korogocho
at 11.00 a.m.

01.08: Marathon begins at Dar Es Salaam bomb blast site at 10.00 am

01.08: Dar Es Salaam-Chalinze………………….110 km

02.08: Chalinze-Korogwe……………………….        200 km

03.08: Korogwe-Same……………………………  160 km

04.08: Same-Arusha……………………………...         180 km

05.08: Arusha-Namanga………………………… 120 km

06.08: Namanga-Kajiado………………………..        90 km

07.08: Kajiado-Nairobi…………………………..       90 km


Arrival at Nairobi bomb blast site
: 10.00 a.m.