Running and walking to raise money for the world's greatest solvable problem: chronic hunger. Yesterday, on 1 November, the 9th edition of the Run for The Hunger Project took place. It was the ultimate B2B running event, starting at the Olympic Stadium in the direction of the Amsterdamse Bos and then back, with as aim collecting as much money as possible for The Hunger Project. And they definitely succeeded in the latter! The 100 participating business teams collected nearly € 200,000 to combat hunger in the West African country of Benin. More than 800 runners from companies such as PWC, Stern, Hak and Indutrade walked and ran 5 or 10 kilometres for The Hunger Project Benin. The Loyens & Loeff team were first to cross the finish line and win first prize, followed by NL Healthcare and Allen & Overy. The Run for The Hunger Project was made possible by NPM Capital and various sponsors.
The best investment possible
9 editions of the Run for The Hunger Project have collected nearly 1.5 million Euro in total so far. The Hunger Project has invested and will invest this spectacular amount in rural Benin. There, thousands of local volunteers are trained in entrepreneurship and leadership, giving them the opportunity to take their fate into their own hands. Because when people dare to dream and are given a chance, they will achieve the most extraordinary results: such as the end of hunger. Hunger is the world's greatest solvable problem. In recent years, incredible progress has been made, and the number of people who are suffering from hunger has decreased considerably. Still, nearly 800 million people are suffering from chronic hunger. And that is far too many. If we work hard together, we can bring the number of people who are suffering from chronic hunger back to zero over the next 15 years.
Returns Run for The Hunger Project
Partly thanks to the proceeds of the Run for The Hunger Project, the following results were achieved:
- 4 epicentres were built in Gbégourou, Gohomey, Guinagourou and Klouékanmè. A total of 56,120 people in 27 villages are using:
- Gbégourou: opened in 2013, almost 9000 inhabitants
- Gohomey: opened in 2014, almost 22,000 inhabitants
- Guinagourou: opened in 2012, almost 17,000 inhabitants
- Klouékanmè: opened in 2013, almost 8,000 inhabitants
- Food security: almost 110,000 kilos food were stored in the food banks of these epicentres. This means people can fall back on affordable food if stock becomes scarce. This way they are not at the mercy of the extortionate prices charged by traders.
- Nutrition: in epicentre Avlamé, a special clinic was built to prevent malnutrition. The weight and the health of children is being monitored, and almost 4000 people receive information on healthy eating.
- Water: in epicentres Akpadanou and Avlamé, water facilities were installed, giving more than 16,000 inhabitants access to safe drinking water.
- Micro financing: not just learning but saving too. In Gbégourou, Gohomey, Guinagourou and Klouékanmè, nearly 1700 people saved up more than 80,000 dollar in total.
- More results on www.thehungerproject.nl.
Impact
All proceeds from the Run for The Hunger Project go to the work of The Hunger Project in Benin. According to independent investigations by the Nationale Goede Doelen Test (National Charities Test) and the Goede Doelen Monitor (Charities Monitor), an investment in the work of The Hunger Project has the greatest chance of having an impact. The Hunger Project consistently scores the highest attainable points. In addition, The Hunger Project was one of the runner-ups for the Transparantprijs (Transparent Award) and the annual report scored a Triple A.
You can read more about the Run for The Hunger Project on www.runforthehungerproject.nl.
