London Marathon: A Funfair For Charitable Cause

By Sandow Seidu Kpebu, London

Thirty five thousand people started the London marathon race in Blackheath and Greenwich, both in South East London, with 34,420 finishing on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace, by 6.30pm on Sunday the 13th April 2008, in bursts of chilly rain amidst funfair to raise money for charities. The 26 miles 385 yards event attracted people from all walks of life. Some wearing rhinos and sports mascots including the Masai Warriors of Tanzania who participated in the run to raise £60,000 for water project for their village. As the elite runners were racing to the finishing line led by the eventual winner Martin Lel of Kenya in an event new record time, it was the Masai Warriors, Ronan Keating (musician), Jonathan Pearce (BBC football commentator), fancy and mascot wearing revellers and the 101-year-old Buster Martin who attracted my attention.

The determination of 101 year old Buster Martins to make life happy for under privileged people was remarkable and deserves commendation. The rain was blustery but that did not deter him from achieving his aim. He run from the starting point through the Victorian buildings of London, Canary Wharf, along the banks of river Thames, over the Tower Bridge and went pass the parliament house with his funs strategically positioned to provide him with bitters. The energy and will power exhibited by the Masai Warriors to raise money to provide clean drinking water for their village has attracted wide publicity in UK. The British public has been sympathetic with the warriors in their quest to serve their people.

Such selfless endeavours must not be left to the likes of the Masai Warriors alone. Politicians, traditional rulers, business executives and the general public must be selfless in the provision of water, education, electricity, healthcare and in the fight against poverty and diseases.

The lessons from the London Marathon is a wakeup call to all and sundry that we can play part in the provision of social services aim at making life worth living. One hundred and one year old Buster Martin’s participation in the event should remind those of us in Africa that we must exercise circumspection not to embezzle the aid, grants and donations we receive from abroad. It takes people like Buster Martin and many disable bodies to raise funds for the aid and donations we get from the western countries. They take part in these events with their hands on heart for our sake.

The NGOs operating in Ghana must therefore not see monies sent to them for community development as a windfall. They must cut down on their office expenses; the flashy cars and the fat salaries they pay themselves at the expense of the projects for which these donations were given them. It takes a brave heart to run in an event like the London marathon to raise funds for a charitable cause. The weather is always unfavourable, especially to the elderly who endure it to complete the 26 miles 385 yards distance. In spite of the harsh weather, thousands of people turn out year-in-year-out for worthy cause.

It would therefore be irresponsible on the part of people who are tasked to use these monies for the benefit of communities to line their pockets with these monies. Strict monitoring and accountability measures need to be put in place by the government and other regulating bodies to ensure the efficient use of the aid, donations and grants which most often do not get to the people for whose cause it was raised in the first place.