Skopje Marathon 2010

On May 9, 2010, in four hours, Mike Fritz, Jeremy Lewis, Bart Brown, Ryan Rowlands and Steve Adams-Smith ran a relay for the Roma in the Skopje Marathon. Steve, visiting from Bulgaria, stepped in for Kim Brown and Ryan and Bart covered Susan's 7 km because of a last minute bout of the flu! All five guys made really good time and everyone ran the final 250 meters smiling! A huge heartfelt "thank you" to the runners! They did fantastic! I was so proud there were tears in my eyes! Almost as good as running it myself! Well, almost! If it wasn't for them, this wouldn't have happened!

An aside: Yesterday, as I was headed to a brief meeting at Sumnal I passed a boy, 8 years old maybe, with a backpack on his back, walking with purpose out of Sumnal. After the meeting, I spied him diligently working on his homework at a plastic table outside his hut. That, my friends, is what this was all about. Thank you!

Plan C and the Relay Team members

After an MRI confirmed that I had three herniated discs in my spine, I asked all of my running friends if they would run in my place for the Roma in the Skopje Marathon May 9. Ryan Rowlands, Kim and Bart Brown, Mike and Susan Fritz and Jeremy Lewis will be running in a relay team for the Roma! Thank you! In the meantime, I guess I'm "Rehabbing for the Roma!"

Macedonia's News Coverage of Half-Marathon

Please check out the television news coverage of the event!

http://sitel.com.mk/video/makedonija/petta-donatorska-trka-na-kejot-na-vardar

Run for a Cause Half-Marathon Video

Run for a Cause Half-Marathon

On April 10, Vanessa and Cullen Hughes, Ryan Rowlands, Matt Keener, Kai Rowlands, Haley Rowlands, Faik Arif, Ersin Ali, and Sabuhan Suljo all ran for the Roma for the "Run for a Cause," 1km, 7km and half-marathon! A special thanks to Gretal Schueller and Michael Rodman for volunteering to help at the event. The runners raised thousands of denar for Sumnal. Thank you to the runners and those who supported them! Together we can all make a difference, one step at a time, one denar at a time, to get children off the streets and into school!

Video about the Roma and Sumnal

"Run for a Cause Half-Marathon"

Last week I met with Brian Richards and Igor Netkovski, two gentlemen from Integrity AO, a non-profit organization committed to, "the creation of people's integrity, which means the creation of one completely, fully, independently and healthy person," basically an organization that does good. They invited me to join in their half-marathon, "Running for a Cause," on April 10. In general, running for a cause is a new concept in Macedonia. Just last year, Macedonia had its first walk-a-thon, Go Pink, to raise money for breast cancer. "Running for a Cause," will be the first running event for charity in the country. Running for the Roma, along with several other charitable causes will be participating to promote the concept of volunteerism and activism in Macedonia. Come join us in Aerodrom on April 10 as we kick off a new era of giving in Macedonia!

Plan B

At the beginning of December, a pinched nerve in my back halted my running and then later all aerobic activity. Ibuprofen, rest and gentle stretching have lessened the daily pain, but have not eliminated it. When I did have a painless first week in February and decided to jog in place on the carpet for more than 10 minutes to test it out, I jogged myself back to December. For me, time, up to 6 months, is the solution, and then considerable strength training in my back and core. After that I might be able to get back on the track. But not in time for the marathon in May.

Luckily, I don't feel the pain while I'm running, only afterwards. I don't want to cause permanent damage, and, therefore, Plan B is to search for runners who will relay the marathon with me. I think I'll be able to run 3 to 4 miles, and hopefully, as a part of a relay team, run for the Roma.

If you are a runner and will be in Skopje April 10 or May 10 and would like to run with me, please let me know. Together, we can raise money for Sumnal and run for the Roma!

What is Sumnal?

Sumnal, which means “World” in the Romani language, was founded in 2004 by one of the few Romani women to pursue graduate studies, Fatma Bajram.

Sumnal educators and young Romani volunteers provide daily educational assistance for students in 1^st-8^th grade.

Children who have either never enrolled in school or who have dropped out have the chance to re-integrate into local schools through a special daily program providing remedial education.

An early intervention program targets children aged 2-6, as well as their mothers, who visit Sumnal daily to assist with their children’s learning and development.

Sumnal organizes local events that raise awareness regarding the importance of education and school registration procedures, as well as allow children and youth to showcase their talents to community members.

Sumnal also organizes cultural events, environmental clean-ups, local outings, sports activities, and other enriching activities – rare opportunities for Romani children and youth.

Students who regularly attend Sumnal experience an average grade point increase of 40%.

When Sumnal opened it’s educational center, there were zero youth from Topaana enrolled in high school.

Today, only a few years later, there are over 70.

-From Sumnal Slideshow, by Jessica Mangskau

Who are the Roma?

September 28, 2009

The Roma, a subgroup of the Romani people who live primarily in Central and Eastern Europe, were formerly known as “Gypsies.”

Romani were forced out of their nomadic lives around the 1700’s and have been persecuted and highly discriminated against for hundreds of years.

Topaana, Macedonia is a predominantly Roma community.

Ten percent of Topaana’s children never enroll in school.

Of those who do, nearly fifty percent will drop out by 5^th grade.

In Topaana the unemployment rate is over 80%

Although their families have lived here for centuries, 30% of Roma in Macedonia do not have citizenship documents – they have no legal identity.

Since their homes do not meet codes of safety, they are denied a legal registered address.

A registered address is a prerequisite for receiving health insurance, social assistance, and to register your child for school.

Without a registered address and legal identity Roma are barred access to education, health services, housing, formal employment, financial services, social security, justice, property rights, legal marriage, and participation in the democratic process.

Nationally, 89% of Roma live in income-based poverty.

Roma children who beg on the streets for their livelihood (“street children”) often do so in busy and dangerous intersections.

Life expectancy of the Roma population in Macedonia is significantly lower than of the general population.

Only 3.7 percent of Roma are aged 65 or above, as compared to 10.4 percent of the overall population.

Around half of Roma in Macedonia live in informal, overcrowded or inadequate housing.

“There are some 15 million Roms dispersed across the world. Their history is one of suffering and misery, but it is also one of the victories of human spirit over the blows of fate.” – Indira Ghandi, Former Prime Minister of India

-A Sumnal slideshow, Jessica Mangskau, adaptation

Why am I running?

As I run in the heart of Skopje, Macedonia, I hear the shrill powerful voice of a Roma man cutting through the air, "Staro! Staro!" Old stuff he wants as he spurs his hor

se on in the sweltering sum

mer heat. His cart either empty or piled high with a rusty washing machine, old tires, or flattened cardboard boxes.

As I run through the city, I see the Roma climbing over the dumpsters, filtering through the mass of pork bones and stale bread for plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, food, anything recyclable, edible or usable. Rigged up motorcycles, hauling bags of bottles bigger than an SUV sputter through the city. At the stoplights the mothers with the babies thrust a hand to a car window while the teens splatter windshields with dirty water and swipe them with a rag.

As I run I pass a father and his toddler napping face-to-face in the grass in a shade-filled

courtyard of a high-rise apartment building. Then one day they aren't there; children play soccer in the grass. Further on at a stoplight I see them, the father begging at the car windows, the

child a sleeping potato sack over his shoulder.

I run along the Vardar River, a fast-moving, trash-filled river. Mallard ducks paddle through rusty oilcans, candy wrappers, skeletons of bicycles. I run past a dumpsite along the river where Roma children "sled" down the piles of rubbish on pieces of cardboard, their hilarious laughter bouncing over the mini-rapids.

I run so these kids can go to school. I run so instead of begging, they are learning.

I run for the Roma.