MANSFIELD, Ohio–The Liwiro la Malawi 5K is returning to Mansfield this weekend. The race will be held Saturday, March 21 at 10 a.m. Event proceeds will help to improve the lives of orphans at the Kanyenyeva Orphan Care Ministry in Malawi, Africa.
“We raise money to help the children of Malawi have hope for their future,” said Joy Jones, race director. “Having been to Malawi several times, we can see that the children there are just like the children here…they just want to have food to eat, time to play, an education, a home, and hope for their future. Many children in Malawi do not have two nutritious meals a day, time to play, and cannot consistently attend school because they need to help collect water or help with other household chores, so they do not have much hope for their future.”
Jones serves as vice president of the Malawi Orphan Care Project, Inc. (MOCP). MOCP is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that aims to improve the lives of orphaned children and their caregivers. MOCP works in partnership with community leaders in Malawi to address the physical, spiritual, economic and relational needs of the orphans and their caregivers in Malawi.
Jones noted that Malawi is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world, with at least one million orphans out of a population of about 15 million people. “Unlike the U.S., there are no government programs to help the disadvantaged in Malawi,” she said.
In 2005, Kanyenyeva Orphan Care Ministry was started by Malawians who saw a need in their community. They were able to feed 125 orphans in their community two days a week for several months but then ran out of resources to continue the feeding program. Because Malawi is poor and lacks government programs to help, the Kanyenyeva Orphan Care Ministry reached out to people outside of Malawi to help continue the feeding program.
“We learned about this and were able to find others that wanted to help, too,” said Jones. “Through this, Malawi Orphan Care Project was started. We are now able to help them feed at least 350 orphans 4 times a week, provide school supplies for elementary aged students and scholarships for 48 high school aged students.
“We have helped them build a kitchen so they can feed the children throughout the rainy season, install a well for the community, build a meeting hall and start several small businesses that help the caregivers earn a living wage.”
While much progress has been made, Malawians are still very much in need. “This year, Malawi experienced the worst flooding in at least 50 years and many of the caregivers’ crops were ruined. The people at the orphan project will need even more financial assistance than in previous years just to have food to eat,” said Jones.
This is the second year for the Liwiro la Malawi race. Liwiro la Malawi is Chichewa for “we run for Malawi.” Chichewa is the native language of most of Malawi.
Awards will be given to the top two male and female runners, as well as the top two male and females in each age category. The age groups are 14 and under, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60 and over.
The overall male and female winners will receive a trophy made from a wooden sculpture that was the inspiration for the Kanyenyeva Orphan Care Ministry logo, said Jones. “The trophy depicts a woman bending over to help a child, which is what every participant and sponsor is doing through Liwiro la Malawi–we are helping the children of Malawi,” she said.
The age category ‘medals’ are handcrafted from wood by a Malawian artisan. “The women at the orphan project started a business where they make lanyards, necklaces, and bracelets so they can earn a living wage. We purchase lanyards and necklaces from them to use for the men’s and women’s age category medals,” Jones said.
The registration fee is $25. To register online, click here. People may also register on race day beginning at 8:30 a.m. Registration will close about 10 minutes before the start of the event.
The race begins and ends on the square in downtown Mansfield. Participants will go west on Park Avenue West, turn south on Brinkerhoff, then east on Maple Street. They will turn left onto Marion Avenue until Park Avenue and turn east to the end of the race.
Sponsors of the event include Athens Greek Restaurants on Main Street in Mansfield, on Lexington-Springmill Road in Ontario and on West High Street in Mt. Vernon, Crowe’s Shoes, Graham Automall, Mike and Stephanie Jedra, Massage By Claudia, Scott Sharrock of State Farm Insurance and Y-Not Cycling and Fitness.
