On the 28th of November, URDT’s campus was a beehive of runners who wanted to make a statement for  peace.

The URDTGirls’ school organized a 10 kilometer run and 522 young women and men resisted the heat and ran in the rolling hills of Kagadi and showed that they were part of the growing peace movement in Uganda.

Most students from URDT's educational institutions ran together with 2 pastors, 1 arch deacon, 6 soldiers, 10 girls from Pader who experienced abuse from the Kony rebels, expatriate friends from Kampala and Moroto, the LC5 chairman and many community members.

Their wake up call to unite for peace was aired on several tv stations, both nationally and locally.

The organisers were innovative in mobilizing funds for future peace projects. The students had to raise 5.000 Ugsh from their relatives and friends as another way to engaging people beyond the URDT family in the debate. They have also asked the local philanthropists to pledge a donation. In addition, they organized pledge cars and a raffle with prices given by the local communities and business people.

The event raised over 10 million Ughs, which is over 3.000 euros. URDT will use the funds to organize a competition where community members in Kibaale district can hand in proposals on peace projects. In that way, it enlarges the group of people involved in the ongoing discourse and actions about peace and sustainable development. In addition, URDT continues to broadcast programmes on the community radio where people of all walks of life talk about their vision for peace and advocate for dialogue and peaceful ways of resolving differences.

The Kagadi marathon is a good start of a larger voter education campaign and also an up scaling of URDT’s efforts to develop groups of ‘peace creators’ amongst the Bunyoro people who say NO to violence and promote and demand DIALOGUE at all levels as soon as other people use their fits or arms to resolve their differences.

URDT sincerely hopes that other districts and regions will join, so that nation wide Uganda develops a vision and actions for peace coming from the grassroots.

Isn’t that a great reason to join in with our Ugandan friends to financially support this important initiative with a generous donation?

These heroic Ugandan girls run to support other children in need. Will you support them?

Students at the URDT Girls School ran 14K barefoot to raise nearly $1500 USD for their community, where most residents live on less than $2 a day.

Why did the girls do it?

They are chosen from the poorest families in the district to attend the remarkable Girls School at the Uganda Rural Development and Training Program (URDT). There they learn to set bold goals for their own lives, families and communities, and do whatever it takes to reach them.

As a result of their efforts the entire region is flourishing. The Girls School is becoming a model for Uganda and the world.

This was no ordinary charity run.

The sun was blazing hot. The roads were unpaved, pitted and rough. Most of the 235 girls ran the 14 kilometers barefoot because they couldn't afford shoes.

The students at Uganda Rural Development Training (URDT) Girls School initiated this bold and heroic act of altruism in 2008 to help children even less fortunate than themselves. In December 2009, more than 700 girls from their region will run to raise funds for their community.

You can help.

Despite their inexperience in running long distances, their commitment to “go the distance for others” proved more powerful than the challenging 14K course.

How can you help?

You can support these inspiring girls, whether or not you are a runner. Your contribution goes a long way to help girls and young women become strong, self-reliant leaders in Africa. During 2009:

You can donate funds directly to support the girls.

You can form your own team, or join a team, to raise funds by gathering pledges for and do sports in already-scheduled local sports activities like the 4daagse of Nijmegen or Amsterdam Marathon.

Your generous contributions, either by direct donation or through a fundraising sports activity, can positively impact these inspired, courageous girls at URDT

How to donate NOW

Here are specific examples of how your generous contributions will positively impact these inspired, courageous URDT girls:

• 20 €   - a pair of shoes and sports wear
• 40 €   - support for a girl and her family to start an income-producing project
• 100 € - a girl’s education, food and accommodation for half a semester, plus functional adult literacy training for her parents
• 150 € - a month of broadcasts on the local community radio station, reaching 2 million listeners, on the role of sports in female empowerment
• 400 € - a month of sports program costs and athletic teacher’s salary to empower and train girls as coaches and role models
• 500 €- a month of training of all students in sustainable agriculture for income and food security
• 600 € - a year full education, room and board in the hostel for a year (10 month school year) plus functional adult literacy training for her parents
• 4000 € - one year sports programme costs and athletic teacher’s salary
• 5000 € - one year agricultural programme costs and teacher’s salary

Your money goes a long way to support girls and young women to overcome the poverty in their homes and becoming inspiring leaders in Uganda.

The more we can help, the bolder the strides they will take to pass forward our caring, and empower others in their communities.

Yes, the girls need shoes, but more is needed for them to be leaders and role models in changing their lifes and communities. When it comes to empowering girls, running shoes are just the beginning.

DONATE NOW

 The Story

The Girls School at the Uganda Rural Development and Training Program (URDT), gives girls from very poor families a rare chance to prosper against the challenges of traditional gender, economic, tribal and political restraints.

The school is run entirely on donations and since its inception thousands of students and community members have benefited from its programs.

"To educate a boy is to educate an individual, to educate a girl is to educate a community." Because of the school and the proactive, inspired work of the girls on community development, their entire rural district is becoming a flourishing model for other communities in Uganda and Africa.

Meeting the challenge

The very nature of athleticism is to challenge limitations, surmount obstacles and defy the odds.

This is the commonality shared between runners everywhere and the girls of URDT.

This is why providing these girls with the resources to prosper and positively affect change in their lifes and homes is a simple and meaningful thing to do: Runners 4 Runners!