Miranda Salvos step out for Joytown
Members from the Miranda community walked 50km to raise funds for The Salvation Army's school for children with disabilities in Joytown, Kenya.
Miranda Corps has staged its fifth annual walkathon – “The Big 50” – which raises awareness and funds for The Salvation Army's school for disabled children in Joytown, Kenya.
Held on Saturday 15 August, nearly 100 walkers from the corps and community completed either 50km, 25km or 5km. More than half of the participants completed the longer walks, which followed a route through Sydney's picturesque Sutherland Shire.
About $5000 was raised on the day, but organisers said they were confident of reaching their goal of $10,000, especially with online donations still coming in.
Over the years, money raised from the walkathon has gone towards everything from purchasing mattresses to building amenity blocks at Joytown. A mission team from Miranda Corps will travel to the school next year, giving them the opportunity to see first-hand the impact this year's fundraiser will have on the Joytown community.
“It might not seem a lot but it goes a long way in Kenya. It can make real changes,” said Rebecca Cundasamy, one of The Big 50 team coordinators. “It’s about trying to make a difference in one stop rather than being overwhelmed by third-world issues.”
Along with raising funds, the Big 50 walkathon team's vision is to connect with the local community. Rebecca said many members of the public take part in the walkathon and go away impacted by the cause.
“I think people come because there are a lot of people out there who like to challenge themselves personally, but also they are sold out on the cause,” she says. “We do show them footage from the school and they see disabled kids pushing other kids in wheelchairs and a lot of them get quite emotional and say, 'The least we can do is walk 50km because we are able-bodied'.”
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