RCA Charity Half Marathon Gifts Alheri Comm. ₦8.5 million

The organizers of Run Club Abuja, RCA, Charity Half Marathon, on Saturday, July 13, put smiles on members of the Alheri Community, leprosy Village in Kwali, Abuja as they raised over 8.5 million naira from the event to help provide a full year service of health care for the community.

RCA Charity half marathon which marked the anniversary of RCA, contained a 10 kilometer, 21 kilometer and Fun run for kids that took off from Central Park and ended in the same venue, as about 500 participants in Nigeria’s capital city trooped in to show their love for running and humanitarian service.

Read Also: RCA Charity Half Marathon Set To Develop Alheri Comm. In Abuja

Excited with the turn out, RCA President, Emmanuel Blaze Otokpa urged the government to support noble causes like theirs, highlighting the fact that as a club they always look for ways to give back to the community annually.

“Every year in July, we mark our anniversary, which is the Run Club Abuja anniversary with a charity half marathon. And what happened is that we run, we organize a half marathon, and then we choose a charity cause with which we raise funds towards. So for this year, we are trying to support the leprosy colony in Alheri, in Kwali. We are here with our partners and well-wishers and people who just want to give back to society to run this race. We are a run club. So we run every Saturday and during the week also.

So we just feel like since we already run to keep fit and to live a healthy lifestyle, we can actually use that same thing to try and do good to people in our immediate society. So that is why we use the run, which is the core focus of the club, to try to support people.

The government can help to support causes like this and just help us to reach out to the people who cannot afford certain things.”

Also speaking at the Charity Half Marathon, Head, Asset Management Team, Nörrenberger Group, Pabina Yinkere, stated that the event is a noble cause as every Nigerian deserves the right to adequate health care.

“This is a noble cause and at Nörrenberger we believe in noble causes. This year’s event is to raise funding to support a community health center for the leprosy community in Kwali and it aligns with our vision because Nörrenberger as a corporate organization we have a vision. As a responsible organization we’re also keen to support noble causes such as this.

We think everyone deserves the right to health care. We think everyone deserves the right to financial literacy and financial freedom.”

Secretary of the Leprosy Colony, Salihu Aliyu observed that the victims of the disease were facing a variety of challenges including poor healthcare but was however very thankful for the donation, noting that it will go a long way.

“The people in the community are saying thank you to this organization, we appreciate you. We have many challenges so thank you.

And we want to thank this organization for what you want to do in our community, thank you so much.”

69 year-old Maria Ojo who participated alongside her son, said she feels great and excited running for charity, as she had longed to be part of such a humanitarian gesture and felt satisfied fulfilling the desire at the event.

“I’ve been watching them because my son is a member. But today I said he should register me so I can participate, I pray for them to do more.”

Meanwhile, another participant, Sa’ad Kamaldeen explained that, “it’s always a good thing doing what you love, especially doing it for a good course”. He advocated for more communal efforts events as such to carry everyone along in doing their own bit for humanitarian purposes.

The RCA Charity Half Marathon aimed to raise ₦10 million to help provide a full year service of health care for the community which is set to engage 2 staff and provide medical supplies for 1 year.