Run for Life Partner Spotlight
Village Drill has been privileged to partner with Run for Life, a nonprofit group based in Canada. While Run for Life supports various programs in Canada and Kenya, the Village Drill involvement pertains specifically to their legacy project of well drilling in Kenya, Africa. In Kenya, Run for Life works to foster education as well as cultural exchanges between the developed world and the developing world. The Village Drill helps to anchor those exchanges as it links members of Run for Life to Kenya, with a unified purpose. While Village drill is not Run for Life’s only focus, it is one of their main aspects of overseas work.
How does Village Drill fulfill Run for Life’s mission?
Run for Life’s mission is to support healthcare, education, and economic development in Kenya. Water is key to all of these; the communities cannot thrive without it. Run for Life found this need for water to be a common thread in all of their programs. Dr. Mark King, a hydro geologist and Run for Life volunteer from Nova Scotia originally discovered the Village Drill, and soon after the partnership began in 2012.
Progress
Using the Village Drill, Run for Life has drilled 17 wells, primarily at schools. They have also gone into medical clinics, farms, and private homes, thus helping to support education, health, and agriculture in the community. All of the wells are located in Southwest Kenya, within Nandi county. The village of Mosoriot serves as the group’s main hub, and all of the wells are drilled within a 2-hour radius of this community. Run for Life hopes to develop this area enough so that they can move on and potentially be a model for the other 42 counties in Kenya, by showcasing their process and success with the Village Drill.
Rift Valley Marathon
The Rift Valley Marathon (LINK: https://riftvalleymarathon.com) is a yearly event held each March, which is organized and sponsored by Run for Life in the Kenyan community to showcase the nonprofit group. The race brings economic development into the community as its profile grows each year. It consists of a half marathon, a four-person relay, and a 10km, all held in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. The marathon is open to people from all nations, thus making it a global destination event that attracts runners from all over the world. Runners participate in the magical experience of running alongside Kenyans in Nandi county, an area known as the “source of champions.” The region earned this nickname because it is home to both some of the fastest runners and marathon record holders in the world. All proceeds from the Rift Valley Marathon go toward ongoing water development projects, enabling Run for Life to bring clean water and increased availability through borehole and well projects to marginalized communities in the Rift Valley Region. Since its inception in 2012, The Rift Valley Marathon has been able to donate more than $75,000 to this cause.
