The inaugural Tespok Autism Half-Marathon was officially launched in Nairobi on Friday.
The marathon themed “Be a Hero – Accept, Understand and Love” is geared towards raising Ksh 100m to support children living with Autism in Kenya.
The Half-Marathon will be held at the Nyayo National stadium on November 27 with participants expected to compete in four categories.
Autistic children will compete in the 2 km race with the Wheelchair and amp; CEO’s race set for 5 Km . There will be the 10 Km race for men and women with the 21 Km race for both men and women being the main attraction of the day.
Tespok CEO Fiona Asonga said,“We want to encourage parents with Autistic children to register for this event and also bring their children along on this day,”
“We shall have many activities on the day with all service providers around to answer any questions that might arise,”
The Marathon is set to facilitate Autism research to determine the statistics on Autism cases across the country.
“As part of its commitment to this course, TESPOK will endeavor to spearhead this initiative to reduce stigma albeit creating more awareness and understanding on Autism across Kenya,“ Asonga said.
“We aim to be an organization that successfully balances the importance of achieving corporate objectives alongside with the responsibility of contributing towards the development of communities around us. Therefore, by hosting this marathon, it is totally in line with our objective of being a socially responsible entity that transforms the lives and livelihoods of Kenyan communities besides further strengthening its
relationship with its members.”
Nairobi County Women Representative, Esther Passaris has pledged to partner with TESPOK towards this initiative; inclusive education – in all counties for the Autistic children.
“I will talk to my colleagues from other counties to come in handy and help towards this initiative. We are still lagging behind in addressing such issues but I believe that this is a beginning towards great things in future,” Passaris said.
Having rallied support from its members, other corporates and the public to ensure that autistic children and adults receive love and care, the Tech Service Provider targets to raise a tune of KES 100 million.
The registration exercise has already kicked off and is currently open online at www.autismmarathon.or.ke.
Meanwhile, Athletics Kenya Technical Director George Kariuki has lauded Tespok for choosing to take the proceeds to an autistic charity, adding that the issue had been shunned for a long time.
