Every year, thousands gather in the Lewa conservancy to take part in the annual Lewa Safari Marathon.
Even so, the marathon goes beyond the race as the event has supported conservation projects across Kenya for over 25 years.
By taking part, every single participant plays a huge role in helping local communities and raising awareness of the threats facing Africa’s incredible wildlife.
“The marathon has been here for quite some time, and I’ve seen the marathon improve day by day in terms of support, in terms of monetary support, in terms of having more partners joining us in the marathon, and also the communities having the interest in participating in the marathon because they identify themselves with this marathon, because they have benefited out of The marathon benefits,” said Purity Mwenda, Community Programs administrator, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.
Since its inception, Safaricom has been the event’s main sponsor, while Huawei has provided steadfast support for 17 years.
Their contributions have been instrumental in strengthening conservation efforts, uplifting communities, and fostering a deeper connection with nature. Organised by Tusk and Lewa, the marathon has raised over KSh 1.3 billion (US $9 million) since its first race in 2000.
Worldwide, women continue to face significant barriers to economic empowerment.
Purity who also leads the Lewa Women Microenterprise program has seen the impact of the Lewa marathon on women’s livelihoods.
“We have a women program that is purely for the rural women around here. And these women are the women who are not able to access financial help before, but through our program, we’ve been able to educate them so that they get to know their potential that they can contribute to the society,” said Purity.
The only hope for the Lewa community is that the marathon continues to grow.
“As Lewa celebrates the 25 years doing the marathon, We’ve seen a lot of impact for this event, not only even for community and also conservation, we’ve seen even other conservation areas benefit out of this marathon. And my hope and my expectation and my future aspiration is to see this marathon even grow bigger,” said Purity.
Watch the video below to see how the marathon has impacted the Lewa community.
