Three members of a Williamstown family have headed to Kenya to run a marathon raising funds for children living in poverty.
Cain Speakman, his father Neil and sister Abby, left Australia on Friday for the town of Turbo where Cain has helped to establish a children’s village.
Each of them aims to raise at least $10,000 for the One Heart Foundation, established by Williamstown resident Dean Landy.
Cain, who is on the foundation board, said the Run from Poverty marathon event aimed to raise funds to build a high school in what has been dubbed One Heart Village.
“The money that we raised goes 100 per cent towards the village that we’ve established in Kenya,” he said. “The village that we’ve established houses 75 children who were all orphaned or abandoned.
“There’s three houses [with] 25 kids in each, and we employ house parents so the kids have a mum and a dad – they’re loved – and they’ve got brothers and sisters effectively.
“Within our village, we’ve also built a primary school.
“We also bring kids in from the local community.”
Mr Speakman said the long-term aim was for the village to become self-sustainable and then a second village would be built along the same model.
“Earlier this year, we bought another block of land in a town called Soy where we’re looking to start our second village.
“Some of these kids are living on the streets, under trees, looking after siblings who are two, three years old.”
For more information visit www.oneheart.foundation.
