It was a beautiful December morning; the skies were blue and clear. The perfect weather for running, jogging or even brisk walking. And the people of Kuwait did just that on the 15th of December to help raise funds for Fawzia Sultan Healthcare Network’s initiative for providing treatment sessions for children with special needs.
This race was definitely the biggest one since its inauguration eight years ago. The RunKuwait initiative raised more than KD 60,900 which is estimated to provide more than 1,000 treatment sessions at no cost for the children treated at the non-profit Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC). These free of charge sessions are in addition to the subsidized ones, which are offered on a case-by-case basis, where up to 90% of the costs are also covered by the center.
“The community’s response to our cause and their engagement is our driving force to continue offering the utmost levels of medical care and to support raising the awareness on how to maintain an environment where a child with special needs is raised.” commented Dr. Elham Hamdan, President and CEO at FSHN.
In its early years, the RunKuwait initiative was successful in gaining the community’s empathy and support, which led the FSHN team to direct all the initiative’s efforts and funds towards the children with special needs treated at CERC. The unit offers services for children in a number of areas which include physical therapy, speech pathology, counselling/behavior therapy and occupational therapy.
The race participants and their families, friends and supporters were welcomed with a number of fun-filled activities at the race village including warm-up exercises. All attendees were served refreshments and snacks throughout the day, offered by the event’s sponsors and participating companies.
RunKuwait’s race this year was supported with generous contributions from the following sponsors: Agility as the Founding Partner, INTERSPORT and ASAR Legal as the Gold sponsors and EQUATE and KDD as the Silver sponsors. bazaar magazine was also proud to be a media sponsor of the event.
The bazaar team at RunKuwait 2018. Source: bazaar Studios
First, second and third place winners were awarded across different categories for the 5KM & 10KM race including, Male, Female, Youth (18 years and below) & Masters (55 years and above). The serious athletes were able to complete the 10KM race distance within 36 minutes. The first-place winners announced were Abdullah Rabeea (Male), Taiba Alnouri (Female), Abdulaziz Alduaij (Youth), Robert Dsilva (Masters).
You can’t run without warming up first. Images courtesy of RunKuwait.
The sports enthusiasts who opted for a shorter race distance, 5KM, were also awarded within the same categories. The first-place winners included, Mohammed Salman (Male), Amal Alroumi (Female), Omar Qanbar (Youth), Abdulla Alsaraf (Masters). Everyone who joined the race, whether to compete or simply support the cause, received their participation medal as they crossed the finish line and returned to the race village to join in the relaxing sports activities.
For additional information about RunKuwait and how to continue contributing to the initiative, please follow the official social media account, @RunKuwait on Instagram and Facebook.
Featured image courtesy of RunKuwait and by bazaar Studios.
