Sprinting for our Schools: Mwezi tackles the Great North Run!

This September, the Mwezi Foundation will be taking on the Great North Run! Our daring team of five (Alice, Erin, Lucy, Stuart and Claire) will be tackling the half marathon on the 12^th in order to raise the funds that we need to donate more solar lights to schoolchildren in Kenya.

After nearly two years of delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s race will be the 40^th Great North Run to take place since the event was established in 1981. Our runners will start the race on Newcastle’s central motorway, crossing the Tyne Bridge, and complete it on Newcastle’s Town Moor, where the Finishers’ Village will be waiting for them. The race will be televised on BBC Two between 9:00 and 10:00 on Sunday 12^th, so don’t miss it! We’ve also heard that the Red Arrows will be soaring over the racecourse!

Of course, our runners are taking on this challenge to raise the money we need to donate more solar lights and transform more futures in Kenya’s Kwale and Kilifi districts. Every single light that our supporters have enabled us to give makes a measurable impact on the lives of primary school children. The vast majority of these children have no electricity at home, so access to a Mwezi solar light brightens up their study areas in a safe and environmentally-friendly way. This enables them to learn when there is no natural light available, which improves their exam scores and can open up a wealth of opportunities.

Via in-person visits and our Mwezi WhatsApp group chat, our teachers are always informing us about the wonderful effect that the lights have on the children’s desire and ability to learn in the classroom. The deputy-head teacher at Kitungure Primary School, for example, told the Mwezi Foundation,

“Thank you so much for always supporting our school. Over the four years that you have been supporting us, we have always had an increase in our mean scores. All the students in the classes with solar lights have scored over 300 marks, which is way above the average mark.”

Our teachers also tell us individual success stories from their class, such as when Mr Juma from Kasidi Primary School told us about Noel Munga Boroko, his star pupil. Noel achieved 422 out of 500 in his KCPE exam – one of the top results in the whole of Kenya – which won him a place at the prestigious Alliance High School. Noel told us that

“The Mwezi Foundation came at a very crucial time. It is the solar lamps that made me to study during the night and early in the morning. It is Mwezi Foundation that enabled me to get 422 marks out of 500 in the KCPE exam. It is a pleasure to read for as long as I want without spending a dime on fuel.”

By sponsoring our runners, you can help us to brighten up more futures. It costs only £12.50 to give a solar light to a child. This covers the cost of manufacturing the light in our workshop in Mombasa, delivering it to one of our schools, monitoring it through regular check-ups, and replacing it if it breaks. Your kind donation could transform the life of another Noel.

To sponsor our runners, please visit our JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/team/Mwezi