Tom Waldron 5K – August 13th 2019
July 29, 2019
Tom
Waldron 5K Run/Walk in Claremorris in
aid of Protect the Children of the World
Tuesday August 13th 2019
Claremorris Athletics
TrackRegister from 6:30pmRun Starts at 7:30
The annual Tom Waldron 5K run/walk in aid of Claremorris based
group ‘Protect the Children of the World” will take place on Tuesday 13th August
2109 at the Claremorris Athletics Track. Registration will start at 6:30 with
the run / walk starting at 7:30
After the highly successful event last year we are continuing
with of our 5k run/walk in honour of Tom Waldron to raise funds to remove
children from forced labour and back into education.
RACE INFO
Entry Fee: Adults €10, Families €20,
Students €5 and donations will be very welcome.
This event is supported by Mayo AC,
Claremorris Athletic Club and is coordinated by Protect Children of the World
Organisation in Claremorris.
AAI measured and permitted course race is
Claremorris track start/finish nearby same as recent 5k series
Refreshments/Prize giving there
afterwards
About
Tom Waldron
Tom Waldron was a well known road runner who
could list among his many achievements being a finisher in nine Dublin City
Marathons between 1982 and 2013. Tom’s last two marathons were completed after
having major surgery during his battle with cancer in 2010. Tom was a member of
Mayo Athletic Club and won a number of medals while wearing the green and red
including gold in the Men’s Over 70 National Half Marathon Championships on
Sunday 6th of September 2009, a few days after his 70th birthday. Tom made his
International debut representing Ireland in the Men’s Over 75 Masters team
competing in the Home Countries Cross Country Championships in Nottingham in
November 2014. Tom always took pride in being a runner well into his 70’s,
during races he would always be on the look out to see if there was anyone more
“senior” than him taking part! Tom was never too interested in racing against
the clock, for him running was about enjoying the outdoors, participation,
meeting people old and young and challenging himself. Tom believed that a
healthy body and a healthy mind were inextricably linked. It is fitting that the
Protect the Children of The World Charity have dedicated their fund raising race
to Tom Waldron’s name since it was the last race that he took part in before he
passed away suddenly in October 2015. Tom was a big supporter of the charity and
was involved in many of the charities other fund raising
activities.
Protect
Background
Since 2012 Kitui Development Centre, a
non-profit organisation based in Kitui Kenya, has opened its Rescue Centre to
cater for children removed from the worst forms of child labour.
Kitui, in Eastern Kenya, has the second
highest rate of child labour in the country. Between 2011 and Feb 2013 KDC with
the assistance of International Labour Organisation (ILO) removed 800 children
from child labour and assisted with providing them with 3 months Vocational
Training. However this proved inadequate for the children who had very low self
esteem and extremely low levels of literacy and numeracy.
This gave rise for Protect start to deliver
numeracy, literacy and Life Skills programmes to children together with
counselling and psycho-social support. Presently we are working with 11 rescued
children and during the next two years, we will support them in Vocational
Training. The average cost of non residential Apprenticeship per year is €200
and residential Vocational Training €450.
Child labour is derived from poverty where
67% of the people in the Kitui District live below the poverty line. Coupled
with this is HIV/AIDS prevalence, the rate stands at 4.8% and accounts for about
19,496 infections each year leaving very many orphans and vulnerable children
heading households and needing assistance.
Areas where children are involved in child
labour include farm work, herding cattle and goats, cleaning , laundering and
domestic work, sand harvesting, stone crushing, brick making, water vending,
charcoal burning, bodaboda(motorcycles offering public transport) and
hawking.
Our experience is that children withdrawn
from child labour suffer psychologically, emotionally and spiritually and it is
necessary to work closely with them before placing them in training for work.
It is also very necessary to work with the families assisting them with Income
Generating Activities, an understanding of the consequences of child labour and
a change in some cultural beliefs.
Information
from Janet Hinchion 087 268 3327
