Tag Archives: Arlington

AAH Runners Go for the Gold

Doreen Watsema receiving her medal and 50,000 shillings

Running for enjoyment and exercise is not an activity practiced or understood by many people who live out in the hills of Bududa, Uganda. Many Ugandans in this area spend their days fetching water, digging in their fields, walking long distances to school or market, and grazing their cows. Therefore, the idea of spending energy on the task of running when it serves no purpose seems, well… silly. You can imagine that it was quite a sight, then, when locals began to see a group of AAH teachers and students running past their homes every evening for the past few months. But after a few weeks, this “event” became routine and people no longer just stared — they cheered everyone on up the hills, and a few brave onlookers even joined the runners.

The running started because AAH was asked to participate in a 5km/10km Fun Run Race, organized by the International School of Uganda (ISU). The race, held on April 3rd, required preparation. In the months before the race, Arlington athletes met every evening to run and train. This training created a great sense of camaraderie between all teachers, students, and community members.

Although this event was new for AAH, this was the 10th year the International School of Uganda held its charitable Fun Run. For 2011, Arlington Academy of Hope was chosen as one of the beneficiaries from the event and all proceeds would directly benefit AAH programs. This was a major privilege for AAH since it is one of ISU’s four partner schools in Uganda. This strong partnership has allowed AAH and ISU teachers to exchange teaching ideas and strategies through ongoing teacher trainings and exchanges.

The day of the ISU Fun Run was something truly magical for the 18 participants that ran on behalf of Arlington Academy of Hope. Each teacher and student felt important because they were representing AAH as athletes in Kampala. Lornah Bisiku, a seventh grade AAH student, remarked on UBC radio that the only time she had been in Kampala was last year for the AAH school field trip. She said she felt so special because she got to be an active participant. All AAH representatives performed well and made AAH proud by happily bringing home 7 medals — 5 students and 2 teachers came out on top!! A few students, who won medals and money, were motivated to continue running and decided to spend their prize money to buy their own pairs of running shoes to practice in.

A month later, students and teaches still proudly wear their medals to school. These examples explain the invaluable exposure these students and teachers experienced due to the ISU Fun Run. After experiencing Kampala and seeing a high-class school, such as ISU, the students were motivated and inspired to work hard to be able to reach such heights again and to continue proudly representing AAH throughout Uganda and the world.

Overall, the event was fun, exciting, and successful. ISU hopes to have brought in close to $5,000 for each beneficiary, a huge step in raising local revenue in Uganda.

Story Credit: Carolyn Edlebeck, Arlington Academy of Hope

[Editor's Note: Arlington Academy of Hope is the for our upcoming GIRLS WHO ROCK concert. Run on over to www.girlswhorock.org to get your tickets -- we'll see you June 10!]