World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge launches foundation

Eliud Kipchoge has officially launched his own foundation referred to as ‘the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation’.

Fresh from winning his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in his specialty during the just concluded Tokyo Olympic Games, Kipchoge said the foundation will have a strong focus on education and environment and will be seeking to strengthen communities both locally and internationally.

“My mission is to give all children in the world access to knowledge and education. I want those children to grow up into healthy adults in a green and breathing world where forests keep our people safe.

“I want to contribute and grow the movement in education and environmental protection through my Foundation, to reach the people in the world with my voice,” said Kipchoge.

He also added that he wants to raise awareness and to raise finances to build libraries, schools and grow more trees on the forest sites that will help the upcoming generation in terms of clean air.

“I was lucky in my life to have access to books and knowledge from a young age. It taught me to value life and that is why I have decided to establish the foundation that will help the upcoming generation who also must know the value of having a good environment,” he added.

The Eliud Kipchoge Foundation focuses on two pillars: education and environment and both subjects have been close to Kipchoge’s heart throughout his life and are areas where he foresees making an impact for a better world.

“Education helps you grow, and it can help you grow your community alongside you and access to information is crucial for a good education and a good library is the foundation for this.

“My dream is for all schools and kindergartens in the world to have good libraries right from a very young age, children need to get in contact with books, with learning. This builds a good foundation for children and books can inspire, also to those who do not have access to the internet,” he said.

He also added that he has been inspired by books for his entire life and there are a lot of talented people in Africa and around the world, who may get inspired and help to solve problems people are facing in their communities.

The objective of the Foundation is to sponsor school fees and to give more children access to education, build libraries and inspire people through the importance of education and the power of books.

In terms of environment, Kipchoge said that it is the second pillar for the foundation. The foundation wants to provide a healthy world for the next generations therefore it must all provide the right actions to do so.

“I want the world to breathe well and without forests, you cannot have ideal conditions for training. As a farmer, I know about the importance of a good climate, planting of trees and using the land in a sustainable way, so people can grow healthy food and plants, also for the next generations.

“I believe together we can make dry land green again, which has a huge impact on biodiversity, water availability and healthy food. You can always start helping, even by adopting trees. I began already with adopting a forest near our training camp to help save it. I want to reach out to help save and grow forests around the world,” added Kipchoge.

posted Wednesday September 8th
by Bernard Rotich