The Non-governmental organization Smile for Community (S4C) in collaboration with Legal Services Facility (LSF) today announced the third season of the Run for Binti races scheduled to take place on May 25, 2024, in Dar es Salaam.
The annual Run for Binti Marathon aim to mobilize resources and joint efforts to empower girls by ensuring they have access to education and reproductive health rights, including safe menstruation and improved learning environments.
Last year's event benefited students from Nanyamba and Chawi secondary schools in the Nanyamba Town Council by providing them with modern toilets and sanitary pads to girls, helping to maintain their health and ensuring their continuous school attendance.
Speaking during the announcement event, LSF's CEO, Ms. Lulu Ng’wanakilala, stated, "In implementing our Access to Justice program, it's evident that girls and young women face both avoidable and unavoidable barriers to education, healthcare, and their basic rights. That is why LSF sees the importance of collaborating with Smile for Community and other stakeholders to reduce these obstacles forge new paths towards a just and equal society, especially for girls.
The Run for Binti Marathon has significantly brought stakeholders together to address community challenges. Through last year's event, more than 2,500 students from secondary schools in Mtwara benefited from improved sanitation facilities, menstrual health education, and environmental conservation efforts, including tree planting. This initiative is more than just a race; it is a movement towards creating sustainable change in our society. We invite everyone to join us in this cause, to run not only for the thrill of it but for the impact, we can collectively make in the lives of thousands of girls. Together, we can overcome barriers and build a future where every girl has the opportunity to thrive," added Ng’wanakilala."
Announcing this year's race date, Smile for Community's Director General, Flora Njelekela, said, "Smile for Community, in partnership with LSF, is thrilled to announce the Third Season of the Run for Binti races, set for May 25 at the Oysterbay Grounds in Dar es Salaam. The races will include 21 km, 10 km, and 5 km runs, as well as a 55 km bicycle race. This year's objective is to enhance girls' educational and reproductive health environments. Funds raised will go towards building and improving sanitation facilities in secondary schools, improving access to clean water by constructing wells, promoting safe menstruation through the distribution of reusable sanitary pads, contributing to environmental conservation through tree planting, and providing education on self-defense and addressing gender-based violence."
"We at Smile for Community, the founders of these races, take pride in enabling communities, especially in remote areas, to access reproductive health and safe menstruation as well as to pursue continuous education, a mission we have been executing through our various projects and through the annual Run for Binti races. Thus, I urge all stakeholders to support us by participating and donating to this initiative, as your participation will protect and fulfill the dreams of a girl child. The beneficiaries of this year Marathon are more than 10,000 students from five secondary schools in the Lindi and Mtwara regions," emphasized Njelekela.
