First Lady Margaret Kenyatta takes Beyond Zero campaign to Japan

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta (right) trains with her team in Tokyo, Japan before a 5km race. She also launched the official banner to launch the FLHM 2016 marathon. PHOTO | COURTESY | PSCU 

In Summary

• The launch also marked the third time that the First lady was taking her Beyond Zero fundraising abroad.
• The marathons are aimed at creating awareness and mobilising resources to fund Beyond Zero activities.
• After the race, the First Lady unveiled the official banner to launch the FLHM 2016 marathon at a colourful ceremony at the Hibiya Park.
• She said there were compelling reasons why she unveiled the FLHM 2016 in Japan.

By PSCU
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Tokyo, Japan

The Beyond Zero campaign entered a new dawn Sunday when First Lady Margaret Kenyatta extended her training to Tokyo, Japan where she also launched the 3rd edition of the First Lady’s Half Marathon 2016.

The launch also marked the third time that the First lady was taking her Beyond Zero fundraising abroad.

The first such outing was during the London Half Marathon in 2014.

There was also the recent training session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two weeks ago.

The marathons are aimed at creating awareness and mobilising resources to fund Beyond Zero activities, especially the acquisition of mobile clinics that the initiative has been distributing to counties.

So far, 32 counties have benefited from the fully kitted clinics with significant impact on maternal and child health at the grassroots.

The First Lady ran a 5km race around the emperor’s Imperial Palace in Tokyo in a chilly morning marked by a light drizzle.

PRE-RACE WORKOUT

Before the race, enthusiastic participants who included the Kenyan ambassador to Japan Solomon Karanja, Beyond Zero team and JICA officials took part in a light work-out exercise to prepare themselves for the race.

The pre-marathon training session around the verdant Imperial Palace was unique in its own way because the First Lady was retracing the steps of past world marathon champions including her own personal coach Douglas Wakiihuri, Eric Wainaina and the late Samuel Wanjiru.

The three Kenyan marathon giants trained and made their names in the same “sports-crazy” nation where old age seems to be a key motivation to keep running every morning.

Japan has some of the oldest people in the world.

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After the race, the First Lady unveiled the official banner to launch the FLHM 2016 marathon at a colourful ceremony at the Hibiya Park.

The FLHM 2016 is slated for Sunday, March 6.

Thanking the Japanese nationals and the government for hosting her and providing training facilities, the First Lady said there were compelling reasons why she unveiled the FLHM 2016 in Japan.

She said the vision of the World Assembly for Women (WAW 2015) where she was a key participant resonates well with the Beyond Zero campaign, whose ultimate goal is to empower the Kenyan woman and child through good health.

The First Lady added that Japan is a country well known for its sporting culture where some of the greatest Kenyan marathon champions had honed their world beating prowess.

The chief guest at the launch, Ambassador Norio Maruyana, who is the Director General of Africa Affairs Department in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the event was significant because it was in recognition of Tokyo’s status as a “marathon city”.

He described the Beyond Zero campaign as a game-changer in Kenya’s health delivery system which had brought hope to many mothers and children living in under-served areas.

The First Lady was in Japan for the two-day WAW conference convened by PM Shinzo and which ended Saturday.