CHARITY

The race is being run in aid of St Josephs, an Orphanage in Tanzania which houses 3 adults & 30 children. Recently Paul Carey from Dublin has gone to join them. Ages of the children range from about 3 1/2 to 16 yrs but very often this is nothing more than a calculated guess as few have a birth certificate & those who bring the child to the orphanage have little idea either.

There is no water at St Josephs, the children travel some distance to a neighbouring village & steal it under cover of darkness carrying it in buckets.  To gather enough they must make several trips across a plain. On occasions the water becomes so scarce that it must be bought at considerable cost.

Cooking is carried out on an open fire in large aluminum pots. Whereas it is nutritious consisting of mainly beans, the children lack adequate amounts of meat, fruit & vegetables. As Sister must beg for money to feed the children the emphasis is on providing food rather than development plans such as a well, although work has begun on providing an assembly hall.

In the rainy season it can be quite cold & extremely wet but this dining room/assembly hall will enable food to be prepared & cooked, the children to have somewhere to eat under cover , as well as do their homework . All they have at present is 4 bedrooms, one each for the big & small boys & girls plus a tiny office.

All monies collected go directly to the Orphanage with no costs by a third party.