Six young Maasai warriors from a tiny village in Tanzania who had never been outside their country before completed the Flora London Marathon on April 13 and have succeeded in raising more than £60,000 to bring water to their village, Eluai, where years of little rain have killed off the cattle and now threaten elders, children, and the sick. The total raised now stands at £63,592.

Led by Isaya, the young men ran in the race wearing their traditional clothing, jewellery and shoes made from car tyres, and carrying their shields and sticks just as they would if travelling across their homeland. Nguvu, Lengamai, Kesika and Ninna completed the race in 5 hrs 24 minutes alongside "Soldier Bob" and Matt, their personal trainer.

Isaya, taken ill half way through the race, was taken to hospital as a precaution; Taico accompanied him. Isaya was released later Sunday and then on Monday, determined to complete the race for which they had come to England, Isaya and Taico returned to the place where they had to drop out and ran the remaining 14 miles. Aided by professional runners as pacemakers, they crossed the finish line on Monday afternoon in a total running time of 4 hrs 45 for the 26.2 miles.

“The Flora London Marathon is an excellent platform for any charity, and we’re delighted to be able to offer our assistance to these Maasai runners to raise money for their village,” said race director Dave Bedford. “Water is something we all take for granted, and it will be great to see two different cultures coming together on this sporting occasion for this worthy cause; we are 100% behind this.”

The idea for running in the marathon came from engineer and zoologist Paul Martin, who has been involved with various conservation expeditions in Tanzania since 1997 and first met Isaya when he joined Greenforce as Expedition Leader in 2004. Paul's experience with the Army and French Foreign Legion earned him the trust and respect of the Maasai people and the Maasai Warriors named him 'Soldier Bob'.  Paul ran with the Maasai, and they stayed at his mother's bed and breakfast in Kent while in the UK.

Paul told Reuters that ground surveys of the area around Eluai had found an underground water source which could offer the Maasai a lifeline. "It's an enormously difficult and expensive procedure, but it's so desperately needed that we have to make sure we get something out of there, even if we have to go down to depths of 100 meters (yards)," he told Reuters.

This story and the photograph comes from the Maasai Marathon website, where you can learn more about the runners, about the Maasai, and about their way of life. Greenforce was inspired by the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, during which 168 countries resolved to undertake bio diversity surveys of their "at risk" regions. Host countries that do not have the resources for such surveys can invite an international aid organization to assist. Greenforce, one of those organizations, works with local people to develop long-term sustainable action plans to protect national and marine parks and protected areas. Greenforce often provides  training so local people will benefit from the positive impact that Greenforce volunteers will make in the region - whether it be teaching, sport aid or full conservation programs.

 

UPDATE: According to the Maasai Marathon website, the total now raised stands at £114,726.

Isaya said it best when he said: "..the finish line of the Flora London Marathon is not the finish. The finish is when we can turn on a tap in our village and get clean drinking water!" Greenforce is now dealing with various experts and suppliers to arrange the neccessary drilling and construction works in order to bring clean drinking water to Eluai village. To make sure the drilling operation is well planned, they are:

  • Instructing a verification survey of the subterranean water location

  • Inviting competitive tenders from drilling companies for construction works

  • Inviting competitive tenders for service / maintenance and training schedules

  • Checking drilling company credentials

  • Formulating agreed construction program/timeline

A suitable water pump for the project was donated by Peter Fletcher of Grundfos UK, a world leading supplier of water pumps.

This update was adapted from information on the website.


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