Tremendous Support from Runners to Raise Funds for Humanitarian Mission to Nepal in July
Cyberjaya, 15th April 2017 – Over 500 people gathered this morning at Cyberjaya to run for a noble cause under the banner of PEACE Run 2017 which was organized by Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences.
The runners consisted mainly of members of the community, university students and staff who came in droves to support the public run which aimed to raise funds for the Post-Earthquake Aid & Care (PEACE) Nepal 2017, a humanitarian mission trip to help communities who are still affected by the 2015 earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal. The short-term support activities include medical check-up, health talks and distribution of donated provisions and other items. While the long-term activities are to build water pumps and provide solar panels to the local community.
The running event which was supported by DPulze Shopping Centre, the developers Setia Haruman, Red Bull Energy Drink, Sepang Municipal Council & the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) was flagged off by Associate Professor Mohamad Saidy Ismail, the project advisor for PEACE Nepal 2017 at 7.30am from the starting point at DPulze Shopping Centre, Cyberjaya.
Associate Professor Saidy said at the event, “We are proud to host PEACE Run this year and we have received tremendous support from all participants as we hope to raise enough funds to support this mission. We thank all runners for making this such a memorable event for all us.”
There were three categories open to the public which were the fun run for 3KM and 5KM and a competitive 10KM run. Mr. Billy Boey Chee Hoong and Ms. Danniella Nant bagged the first-place medal for the competitive 10KM male and female run with a time of less than an hour.
Mr. Billy Boey Chee Hoong said, “PEACE Run is a student-based activity and it has a significant value to our society, I feel this is important to show our support and donate some amount for the earthquake victims at the same time.”
Mr. Isyraq Bin Abdul Razak, PEACE Run participant said, “Running is my regular activity and today I’m running on hope, which it is not only my hope but others too. The feel-good thing about this run is that you are actually helping people while doing something enjoyable during the weekend.”
PEACE Run is a combination of the classic run and the new concept of a virtual run. In a virtual run, participants who are interested in running or donating but unable to be present physically at the event can have their race packs shipped to their address. They can then run at a track or park near their place of residence during the same time as the actual run as a show of support. There were 10 runners registered for the virtual run out of 500 runners registered for the event.
The fund-raising run is part of an annual event that sees 40 – 50 students from Cyberjaya University College who volunteer to various parts of South East Asia to provide free medical screening, health consultations and other forms of community support for poor neighborhoods. Over the past 3 years, volunteer teams had gone to Acheh, Laos and Vietnam.