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The annual Brufut Run
will take place on Saturday
18th of December 2010
in
Brufut. There will be a 15 km male race from the
Traffic Lights at Kairaba Avenue through Senegambia
to Brufut; the female 8 km race will start at the
round-about at Brusubi to Brufut and the 42 km
bicycle race will be featured for the fourth
consecutive year. The race will pass through
Serrekunda, Brikama, Sanyang, Tujereng, Tanji and
then Brufut via Ghana Town. Interested participants
are urged to start the necessary fitness training
for the event. The public is also informed to set
the day aside as the Brufut Run Day.
Background
The run renamed today as
the Brufut Run started 16 years ago in then coastal
village of Brufut. The committee to coordinate the
run was also formed the same year. The committee
which metamorphosed to an association has a board of
directors, an executive committee, a general body
and special sub-committees for specific purposes
i.e. sports committee, marketing committee,
organizing committee etc.
The primary aim of the
run is to mobilize resources to contribute towards
ending hunger in the world through sports. Hence the
first run was themed Race Against Hunger, and it was
done in collaboration with the World Runners Against
Hunger who were represented by three runners from
the United Kingdom.
The money raised from
the event was given to the village women
horticulturists to assist them in the purchase of
seedlings and fertilizers.
Funding
The first-ever funding
for the association to organize the run was from a
Swiss student who came to the Gambia for the
program. She donated her pocket money towards the
race.
The members also
contribute towards the events and, for the last
fourteen years, Friends of the Gambia, a UK-based
philanthropists committee has been taking care of
the basic needs for the run i.e. the trophies,
certificates, and some cash for the cash prizes.
For the last four years.
TAF Holdings Company Ltd has been our major
financier until last year when the company could not
help; the association also gets financial and moral
help from individual sport enthusiasts and other
philanthropists.
Achievements
Brufut Marathon Run
Association (BMRA) has been able to re-ignite
interest of the Gambian public in long distance run.
The talents of those
long distance runners have been given a platform to
be showcased. We have nurtured the talents of so
many long distance runners in this country notable
among them Ansu Sowe, Jay Secka, Sanu Gomez and
Mariama T Jallow to name a few, all of whom have
become national athletes of high standing.
Since 1994, we have been
consistently organizing the event without fail
because of the selfless dedication of the members of
the association and the generosity of Friends of The
Gambia Association in England.
We have created a day
that is always looked forward to by many people
because of the ambiance, joy and happiness that
characterizes a typical Brufut Run day.
The association has been
able to attract an increasing number of participants
at the annual event.
Interventions/charity works
The proceeds realized
from the Brufut Runs have been allocated to the
following sectors.
Education
Since our main
objectives is to help women
gardeners/horticulturists in the production of food
to alleviate poverty, we realized that in fact much
of what these women gained from these gardens are
geared towards the payment of tuition for their
wardens. The association then decided to help pay
the tuition fees of the needy students. Since 1995,
the association has helped pay the school fees of
more than three hundred and fifty students in the
Greater Banjul Area.)
Health
The town of Brufut is
surrounded by more than six villages which all visit
the only health facility in Brufut. There is one
ambulance for referrals that gets overworked,
sometimes resulting in unavailability during the
peak malaria season in the rainy season. The
community was able to get another ambulance from
certain philanthropists to ease the process of
referrals.
Every year, BMRA donated
fuel coupons to complement the community's efforts
in the purchase of fuel for this ambulance, the
burden of which sometimes falls on the patients
themselves.
Public Awareness
Campaigns
Every year, since 1994,
the run chooses a theme that often bears on the
welfare of the community of Brufut and, by
extension, the country, so that public awareness can
be strengthened regarding certain issues.
We had a run against
prevention of HIV/Aids, deforestation, malaria,
illegal migration, drugs and alcohol abuse, clean
environment etc. We had also a run for industrial
development, political reconciliation, education
etc.
Media Coverage
Owing to the fact that
this is the most consistently organized long
distance run in the Gambia, the association has been
able to forge a long standing relationship with both
the print and electronic media. The activities
leading to the run and the run proper are adequately
covered by all the electronic and print media of
this country. Efforts are also under way to invite
foreign media to cover the event too, since
participants come from both the sub region and
Europe.
Plans
The long term plan for
the association is to organize a real marathon that
will be graced by thousands and thousands of people
from both within and outside the Gambia.
For further details,
please do not hesitate to contact the chairman and
or the director of finance of BMRA or visit our
web-site
www.brufut-mra.org.
Author: Ba S Jabbi,
Chairman Brufut, Marathon
Source: Picture: Ba S Jabbi |
