This is the third year of this sporting event which in addition to highlighting the celebration of the Feast of All Saints and promoting the values of sport according to Salesian educational tradition has each year been supporting a particular initiative of international solidarity.
There are two course, a competitive one of 10.5 km and a purely amateur one of 3 km. About 2000 professional athletes and about the same number of amateur enthusiasts are expected to line up in Pius XII Square.
The solidarity campaign accompanying the event will provide funds for the work of the Salesians in Pakistan for flood victims. Since the state of emergency stage the Salesian community in Quetta, coordinated by Fr Pietro Zago, have been helping from the beginning 1500 displaced families. After this first stage the Salesians in Quetta started a second which involved the distribution of survival kits to many other families, refugees in places far from the other camps in the city and difficult to reach.
But what they are hoping to do as soon as possible to try to repair in part the serious damage caused by the flooding, is to begin a third stage: “to help the families to rebuild their homes and to re-start the work they were doing before the flood .” At first 50 families, among the poorest will benefit, if possible those originally from that area. Each family will be given direct help to rebuild their houses, to recover their animals and crops. It is expected to cost about 3.000 Euro for each family giving a total of 150,000 Euro.
Lat year the Saints’ Race supported the Project “Free a child soldier” on behalf of the Don Bosco Salesian centre in Sri Lanka, to which the Government of the country had entrusted the care and rehabilitation of a large number of children and youth former fighters.
Thanks to the help of the numerous donors, the Sons of Don Bosco were able to provide on the Island a system of total assistance for the child soldiers: food, medicines, clothes and books, as well as psychological-social support, individual treatment to help overcome the psychological traumas, medical guidance and help. Through primary school education and vocational training, games and group activities the children were able to begin the process of social re-integration and to overcome the stress of their negative experiences.
Published 29/10/2010
