Team World Vision

In the last year leading up to the Trials and beyond, I have taken a backseat role with hands-on volunteering, but my passion for social justice and overcoming poverty has led me to become involved with World Vision, and specifically Team World Vision. World Vision is an international Christian humanitarian organization that works in nearly 100 countries around the globe, combating the root causes of poverty and responding quickly when disaster strikes. 

I really like World Vision’s way of working, in that they wait to be invited in by a community, and then partner with communities to find lasting ways of improving the lives of children and their families. Our role in their work has been joining Team World Vision, which raises money for World Vision’s projects in Africa through athletics. We have been encouraging runners to join the team, choose a race to run for, and raise support for World Vision. Most runners on the team run the Chicago Marathon, but anyone can run, walk, bike, or commit whatever challenge they are excited about to raising money for children in developing countries.

This year, all the money raised by the runners in the Chicago Marathon went to brining clean water to communities in Zambia. Ryan and I went out to Chicago to cheer on Team World Vision last month. It was incredible to actually be with the team in person, meet them at the pre-race pasta dinner, and rally the masses in orange ready to run Sunday morning! Team World Vision had around 800 runners in the marathon, making them close to if not the largest charity in the race! It’s been exciting to see the word getting out and the momentum that the team is generating. During the marathon, I ran around the course cheering on my teammate Kate O’Neill and the hundreds of orange TWV runners that were so easy to spot! Afterwards, we had a barbeque in a park adjacent to the finish, and we got to hear the stories of the 26.2 miles and what had motivated them to join Team World Vision. Some of the runners even ran with buttons displaying a picture of their sponsored child, of whom they were running in honor.
After the Chicago Marathon, Ryan and I traveled to Zambia to see first-hand the water projects that the Team had funded. We had a great time there, and really came away believing more than every in the World Vision model for tackling poverty. Not only did we see the bohr holes that were drilled to bring clean water, but we saw other projects like fishing ponds and health clinics that World Vision had empowered the community to build, aimed at tackling all of the different health and poverty problems that are plaguing the Musele community.

One of my favorite memories from Zambia was the first day we arrived there. Ryan and I went on a run from our hotel along the main road. As we ran down the road, women walked with buckets of water balanced on their heads, men rode by on rickety bicycles, and everyone that passed us stared at Ryan and I, often muttering “mizungo”, meaning “white person” or, the more bold ones, shouting out “Hal-loo, how are you?”, excited to practice their English. We passed numerous mud huts along the way, and often children came running out to wave at us wildly, giggling at the sight of foreigners. They were so adorable it was overwhelming, and I waved back at them, grinning equally as wide.

Soon groups of children in light blue uniforms could be seen up ahead, walking home from school carrying their book bags. As we ran up next to them, they smiled and laughed, and started running with us, still laughing! I was amazed at how small children, caring bags of books the size of them could keep up at a sub-7 minute pace, often barefoot or wearing sandals! Their joy was infectious and we giggled with them, giving them high-fives and thumbs up as they strode beside us. Soon the road started to climb, and one by one they would slow to a walk, except one girl who looked about 10 years in age, who followed our pace from across the road. She was wearing pink crocs and had a large back of books in one hand, but she smiled as she kept up with us for almost 2 miles! When we started to pull away and she slowed to a walk, she still smiled and waved at us until we were out of sight.

The smiling faces of these children still stick in my mind, and remind me to take time out of my training to work to bring hope to these communities from afar. We have been trying our best to spread the world about Team World Vision and find ways to use the platform we’ve been given through our competitions. And hopefully, one person at a time, doing their part by choosing a race and raising support, we can continue to bring hope and joy to children like these all over the world!