The Martlet

Students and Victoria residents alike will be lacing up their sneakers this weekend to raise money for HIV/AIDS in Africa — and they’ll be doing it around a lake near you.

The first-annual Victoria Sala Hantle (“stay well”) Africa Walk and Fun Run will kick off this Sunday, March 15, at Elk Lake, in an effort to support two locally-based international aid organizations involved in Southern Africa: the Victoria International Development Education Association (VIDEA), and the Salt Spring Organization for Life Improvement and Development (SOLID).

The event will feature a five-km walk and a 10-km run, with proceeds going directly to the two groups.

“In my experience it’s always satisfying to participate in these [kinds of] events,” said UVic masters graduate Richard Morrow, VIDEA’s board chair. “It can be good motivation to get out and exercise. It’s also an opportunity to support local organizations who are working to reduce extreme poverty and improve access to health and education in Southern Africa.”

Morrow will be a participant in this year’s run. But while he calls himself a casual runner, he stays active in the local circuit.

“I try to run in a 10-km event once or twice a year to help inspire me to get out and run more often,” Morrow said. “In this case, I’m participating because I really support the work of both of these organizations and, in part, because it’s good motivation to start running again.”

Anna Callegari, a former UVic student who transferred to the University of B.C., and one of the founding directors of SOLID, was key in creating this year’s Victoria run — and the one that began last year at UBC.

Callegari has travelled to Africa twice on volunteer stints, and says she was directly exposed to how critical support in the area needs to be, particularily when it come to the health concerns of the communities affected by HIV/AIDS.

“Our current economic climate has created challenges and difficulties for even our closest neighbors,” she said. “It is critical at this time that we keep vigilant in our efforts to assist grassroots projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, as the impact felt by our poverty-afflicted partners may prove catastrophic.”

After the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences heard about Callegari’s volunteer experiences in providing direct patient care for people suffering from HIV/AIDS in Africa, the faculty volunteered to host last year’s run, which raised over $11,500 for SOLID. Those funds, Callegari says, provided direct financial aid to HIV/AIDS support and care institutions in Malawi, Swaziland and Lesotho, and also went toward providing medical supplies, pharmaceutical drugs and other supplies for health-related work. Some funds were even specifically donated for palliative care for AIDS victims in their last weeks of life.

This year, to address a higher number of participants and to up last year’s ante, the run will be held in two locations — at Elk Lake in Victoria, and on the UBC campus in Vancouver.

Callegari says both SOLID and VIDEA will continue raising funds not only to assist African community-led projects, but also to raise awareness of the relentless struggle that global neighbors in HIV/AIDS communities face daily.

In Malawi, for example, which is bordered by Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia, it is estimated that 54 per cent of people live below the poverty line, and over 1,000,000 children are orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. In some areas of Malawi, up to 33 per cent of the population is infected with HIV/AIDS.

This past fall, volunteers from VIDEA travelled to Lundazi and Zambia, delivering educational and medical supplies, mosquito bed nets (to protect against malaria) and soccer balls. The volunteers also visited schools, health clinics, farms and water points to explore opportunities for working together — but all that takes funds. So, the organizations combined forces in this weekend’s run, and added an online fundraising option to help subsidize the costs of the Africa trips and needed materials.

Morrow said that while winning isn’t usually the goal in this kind of a run, competition is still part of the fun.

“I think most people are running, or walking, just to finish or to meet a personal goal — as well as support a good cause,” he said. “[But] I expect there will be a few serious runners out who are also there to compete. I’m just aiming to finish and enjoy myself.”

Winning may not be the aim of the race, but for the $25 entry fee, a few locally-donated prizes could make it worth trying a little harder.

The Sala Hantle top fundraiser will be rewarded a weekend getaway on Salt Spring Island, while the male winner of the race will receive a Running Room gift pack and the female winner will receive a lululemon gift pack. The top walker will receive a six-month membership at Curves.

Callegari hopes to see many faces out Sunday morning.

“This is a wonderful, organic, and grassroots way to show your support for our African global neighbors, [and] potentially get involved in volunteering yourself,” Callegari said. “And [not only is it] doing something worthwhile with your Sunday morning — it’s also a great chance to get fit.”

Sunday’s run in will start at 8 a.m. at the Beaver Lake Shelter, beside Elk Lake. For more information on how to register or fundraise, visit staywellafrica.com, or call the VIDEA office at 250-385-2333.