Location: Home > News > York Minster send-off for the running girl
York Minster send-off for the running girl
Published: on 23rd July 2003 by Eleanor Course in Press Releases
A 21 year old student from York, nicknamed 'the running girl', is setting off on a record breaking 200 mile jog from York Minster to Westminster Abbey this Wednesday 30 July, to raise vital funds for children living in desperate conditions in Senegal.
Friends and supporters will be joining the 'running girl' - Teba Diatta - at the outset of her 'Running for Life Appeal' at noon on 30 July 2003 outside York Minster. She will spend three exhausting weeks running across the UK to complete her journey on the 20 August 2003, at Westminster Abbey, London. The Appeal is raising funds for UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund and for a school in Senegal.
With little business experience, Teba's Appeal has single-handedly attracted attention and support from high profile people. Prince William and Tony Blair have sent messages of encouragement for Teba's extraordinary mission, as have organisations like the Senegal Embassy and Land Rover. Premier league football players including David Beckham have signed campaign photos of Teba with a Senegal flag to be auctioned at a later date to help raise funds.
Teba who was born and grew up in York, is now a student at the University.
"I was one of the few black faces in York", Teba noted, "and when I finished my A levels I felt drawn to the country where my father grew up. I travelled to Senegal in my gap year, lived with long lost relatives and taught in a local school. The contrast in living conditions and economic hardship that I saw in Senegal stunned me. I have been on a personal mission to raise awareness and funds for Senegal's impoverished children ever since."
Explaining her nickname 'Running Girl' Teba revealed, "In Africa I maintained my fitness regime with a morning jog and locals started to call me 'the running girl'. It stuck. And now I hope to raise as much as I possibly can for the children like the ones I met in Senegal, and call on the support of the people of York to give what they can. I have chosen to donate half of what I raise to UNICEF's work to end child exploitation in the country, and the other half to the school in which I worked that still desperately needs funds. Every penny is vital."
The money raised by Teba for UNICEF will be going towards helping UNICEF UK's 'End Child Exploitation' Campaign in Senegal. The Campaign aims to highlight and work towards stopping some of the worst crimes being committed against hundreds of millions of children every day: hazardous and exploitative child labour, child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. More than a million children trafficked annually worldwide, a million children - mainly girls - entering the sex trade every year, 180 million involved in hazardous and exploitative labour, and 300,000 actively involved in armed conflict.
The other half of Teba's funds raised will go towards the specific school in which she worked in Senegal.
Typical Senegal School :
- In a school of 1,500 pupils, £1 is spent on each child for the whole year
- Schools struggle to carry out normal educational lessons with insufficient classroom for pupils
- Primary school enrolment is as low as 50% in parts of Senegal
- Lack of basic supplies and unhealthy school environments make schooling a low priority for poor families
The Running for Life Appeal hopes to raise enough funds to see direct results within each highlighted area. A gift list has been designed on behalf of the specific school in which Teba once taught. This list details plans for six extra classes including electricity, fittings and paint work, a library with a reading room and necessary learning equipment. Potential donators will be able to access this gift list via the Running for Life website and select the 'gift' that they wish to buy for the school. Donors are guaranteed that every penny is going directly to the gift and can have their name displayed next to the gift which would then be crossed to signify that sufficient funds have been achieved.
The website, www.runningforlife.co.uk, will provide updates on the schools progress along with photos and reports. With the exception of the gift list, funds will be distributed equally between the school and UNICEF.