Francis Karanja, blind athlete from Kenya, achieved a time of 01:12:02 at the 15th Half Marathon in Prague, guided by his brother James.

Rupert Roniger (CEO, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD Austria) and Chris Lohner (Goodwill Ambassador) receive the donation of the entry fees for the Vienna Night Run from Hannes Menitz (CEO sportmedia).

Creating Understanding...

Sport is a great way to encourage persons with disabilities to discover their strengths, build self-esteem and show society what they are capable of. In addition, barrier-free events promote an inclusive society.

Prague ½ marathon 2009

On 28th March 2009 the Prague International marathon, which is well renowned and in its 15th year, took place and started with the race of half marathon race. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD Czech Republic used this opportunity to invited the brilliant blind runner Francis Thuo Karanja who is from Kenya and a silver medal winner at the Paralympics in Bejing 2008 as well as Goodwill Ambassador of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. Over 5,000 people took part in the race and news of it was broadcast on all the major TV channels in the country. It drew a lot of attention not only to the presence of the blind athlete but also to the situation of persons with disabilities in underprivileged countries. His participation was a highlight of the 15th Prague half marathon and was also covered by the main press conference.

Francis ran a time of 1:12:02 which was a great achievement for him on an unknown track and in very different conditions from Kenya - the temperature was about 10°C in Prague. Francis’ main message was and will continue to be to encourage more persons with disabilities not to give up and to try to give them hope for their future lives.

Vienna Night Run 2009

On October 14th 2009, the Vienna Night Run took place for the third time. 13,686 participants made their way around Vienna's historic Ringstraße, starting at 8pm and running through nightfall, symbolic of losing eyesight. 5 Euro of each participant's entrance fee was donated to LIGHT FOR THE WORLD. This made it possible to restore eye sight of 2,281 people in developing countries.

"We are proud that we were able to double the number of participants and therefore double donations this year," says Hannes Menitz, CEO of sportmedia and organizer of the event. Politicians, professional athletes and other VIPs attended the Vienna Night Run, Austrian president Dr. Heinz Fischer himself giving the starting signal. The event was covered by all the major media.

Special guests for the run were the two blind athletes Henry Wanyoike and Francis Karanja, both from Kenya. In cooperation with the Austrian Federation of Disability Sport the Vienna Night Run 2009 was barrier-free for the first time, allowing wheelchair users to participate as well.