Working together to end poverty

In April, the collective actions of global citizens brought world leaders and activists together to make extraordinary commitments on issues that are vital to the world’s poor. In September, 193 world leaders met and announced some extraordinary commitments in the fight to end extreme poverty. Here are some of the highlights:

• The Netherlands pledged to provide clean toilets for 30 million people and clean drinking water for 50 million people.

• 36 million EUR from Belgium to help strengthen the Global Partnership for Education so that all children can have access to quality education.

• $126 million from USAID to support healthcare systems that strengthen vaccine immunization drives and medical support in Ebola affected countries.

• Sweden committed to improving sanitation for 60 million people in the next 15 years.

• The European Union announced they would increase funding for the Syrian refugee crisis by 500 million EUR.

• Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway committed to doubling her country's support for the Global Partnership for Education over the next 3 years to help make sure every child gets the opportunity to go to school.

All told, the announcements will affect the lives of approximately 98 million people.

Sports and AID

Sport can reach places where other aid and development programmes struggle. So why are we ignoring it?

Mel Paramasivan (@melparamasivan) says she was ‘that kid who was always picked last’. But now she is the Communications and Fundraising Manager at the Sport for Development charity International Inspiration, who are credited for all the pics in this piece. 

“Oh, that’s nice” was the patronising response from another delegate at an international women’s rights conference when I explained how sport is being used to engage out of school girls in Kenya in financial literacy programmes. ‘Nice’ is how I would describe the canapé I was eating at the time, not the life-changing experiences of young women now in education, employment or training and finding alternatives to early marriage and motherhood.

The Sport for Development (S4D) sector remains a backwater within international development yet playing sport can overcome almost every discriminatory label and engage and sustain the attention of children and young people in settings less formal and intimidating than a four-walled classroom. Where other interventions fail, sport provides a platform for interactive learning – as when football was used as a way to teach young boys about the importance of girls’ rights and to teach young girls about their own rights. And that’s without mentioning the obvious direct benefits in healthy lives and well-being.

Sport does not leave people behind and as people with disabilities face the challenge of being included in mainstream development, sport can break cycles of exclusion and segregation. In the Bahir Dar region of Ethiopia, sport has enabled people with disabilities to take on responsibilities and leadership roles. Eighteen year old Taye Asfaw went from ‘observer to player’ when the Sport for Inclusive Development Programme was launched and is now managing the local youth centre. The partnership between S4D charity, International Inspiration (IN) and local community organisation the Leonard Cheshire Foundation is a trailblazing integration of sport into community-based programmes, so successful that the model is ready to be scaled up across the country.

Sport is a second chance for those who have slipped through the cracks because of circumstances beyond their control and brings marginalised groups together to tackle the inequalities and injustices they face. Sport creates a special culture of unity and is omnipresent – you may not yet find clean water in every community in the world, but there will probably be a football match going on. So why has sport gone missing in development?

My colleagues have debated the issue extensively: how can sport become recognised in the SDGs?How can we get sport into the mainstream development agenda? What is the role of sport post-2015? My view is that sport will remain on the side-lines until the international development sector recognises the importance of culture and diversity.

Development culture’s stiff upper lip

Sport is a dramatic break from development tradition because it challenges conventional thinking that has largely excluded culture. International development has been shaped by great minds, but so far, they have all come from the fields of economics and politics. There is more to life (and the lives of poor people) than that, which is where sport comes in. Sport symbolizes the kinds of power shift we need both within communities and in development. The scale of work undertaken by S4D organisations does not rival even the smallest UN body or INGO; instead organisations work autonomously and independently, understanding and addressing local challenges. In Kilifi, Kenya (the canapé story) sport has shifted power from local chiefs and community elders to young coaches and girls.

Is sport just a middle-class distraction from the serious business of raising income levels and fighting for civil rights? To borrow from Bill Easterly – we need a little cynicism, sometimes – is S4D just a bunch of planners pursuing a grand vision of thousands of smiling children kicking around footballs? Absolutely not – it didn’t start with a UN bureaucrat with Development for All in one hand and a whistle in the other. The sector rose from the ground and has shifted, split and changed direction in twenty years of great contestation, of trial and error to develop models to work within existing structures that use sport and achieve development. Organisations like IN now look to move sport from an isolated intervention to being accepted as a mainstream development approach.

Sport is not the answer to everything (of course); sport is a means not an end. It is not a farming programme that directly produces food to address hunger, or an energy initiative to provide fuel, but it isn’t an afterthought either. There are, after all, lots of other development interventions that are more means- than ends- based.

Sport can also play a role in the bigger ‘grown-up’ stuff like political reconciliation and social cohesion – Lord Seb Coe argues it could help heal the wounds of the Paris attacks.

We’re all in this together

Sport has the potential to bring a strong and significant shift not only in development culture but how we talk about development and culture. The SDGs, like sport, come with a lot of jargon but at the heart of both are game changers and goals. To turn a blind eye and not offer a hand to sport is to ignore the kid on the side line, who could be a champion and inspire others. But we’ll never know unless we give them a chance.

http://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/sport-can-reach-places-where-other-aid-and-development-programmes-struggle-so-why-are-we-ignoring-it/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sport-can-reach-places-where-other-aid-and-development-programmes-struggle-so-why-are-we-ignoring-it&CMP=EMCGBLEML1625

Running the Hospital Hill

This year’s hospital hill run was a slog through the rain. I admit it: I am a wimp. I hate running in the rain. Slogging through 13 miles of downpour to support any and all efforts to end poverty, however, is worth it! I ran to support Outreach International, a wonderful group of folks fighting the root causes of poverty throughout the world.

I invited folks on facebook to view my pathetic face in a garbage bag running in the rain, in the hope it would bring a smile. I invited friends to donate $13.20 to Outreach. All to raise awareness for one of the critical, yet achievable challenges, of our day.

You see, there are so many places in our world where water is NOT abundant. Because of drought, politics, violence, hatred and prejudice, lack of transportation, lack of engineering, lack of resources … people, especially women and children, die of dehydration and starvation because of a lack of H²O. And there is no excuse other that human greed, human power, human will that sets priorities to reward the few at the expense of the many.

I thank God for blessing my life in such a way that I can run! That I can share my resources with others! That I can raise awareness of the those less fortunate than myself. Thank YOU for sharing with me in my passion to find ways to make this a better world for every child!

The Hunger Season

I stepped out the front door at 6:12 a.m. for my last long run before the WiPro San Francisco Marathon coming up this weekend. The temperature was already 89 degrees Fahrenheit. When I arrived back home just before 9:00 a.m., the temperature had already climbed to 98. I remember several hot summers in the Midwest, including one that nearly closed a Junior High camp I directed. But this one… well, let’s just say the lingering impact is going to be with us for a while.

Drought is a natural disaster that takes a significant toll. It’s effects spread far beyond the region affected. The economic impact can linger for years. The health impact can manifest itself for months. Drought, poverty and hunger are all intertwined in the mosaic of life.

The World Meteorological Organization indicates that some areas are experiencing the driest summer season on record.

The one meal a day for children in rural China

The World Food Program, which will feed most of the needy in the developing world, is projecting the cost to be above $800 million, all of which will need to come from the developed world.

The USAID Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS) reports famine in the East African countries of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Somalia affecting more than five million people.

Widespread livestock deaths, culling of young animals to protect breeding animals, reduction of egg and poultry production, distressed migration, increased animal and human disease and high acute malnutrition rates are indicators being applied to what is happening here and abroad. Conditions are likely to get worse in the coming months during the peak hunger season.

Drought is already being given as an explanation for why millions of people across North America, Africa and Asia are hungry and are going to be hungry through the coming winter. The real reason is poverty, aggravated by regional shortages and hurricanes, typhoons and earthquakes which will drive up the price of regional staples… corn, wheat, barley, maze, to what some are predicting will more than triple last year's prices.

Heat-related deaths are being reported through the Midwest. Growing malnutrition has led to scattered reports of disease-related deaths among young children weakened by hunger.

I fully recognize that my feeble attempts to bring attention to such issues by running a race now and again doesn’t really make much difference. But if just one of you reading this laughs with me as I write these posts and waddle across finish lines; if just a few of you choose to support an organization like Outreach International through your generosity, then, together, we do make a difference! If my finishing a race allows one child to eat a meal, sleep in a safe place, get an education… then I will gladly run when it is hotter n hell and thank God I can!

Leaving' on a Jet Plane

Thailand: A Land of Beautiful Promise

As I sit here in the middle of the plane near the rear, with my knees tucked between my ears (yes, I’m in the cheap seats, friends… because, well, I’m cheap), I still feel the thrill of travel. I love going half way around the world or even just down the street to new places—found a gravel path off Hawthorn I had never run before last Tuesday. Great fun! I always learn something! I always meet someone who impacts my life for good. I always eat something that challenges my taste buds! Even in KC, new restaurants keep expanding my horizons—actually my mid-section—and my gastronomical curiosity. But I digress. I am awesomely privileged. Fabulously Blessed. 

Millions of people on our planet will live their entire lives within 25 miles of where they were born. For many, it will be a short life, riddled with disease and suffering and violence. I will meet children over the next 15 days that have survived, escaped and overcome child labor, human trafficking, lack of legal identification, and barriers to opportunities such as education.

Those especially at risk are from minority groups in remote or very poor areas, often along Thailand’s borders with Cambodia, Lao and Myanmar. The legal minimum working age in Thailand is 13. By Thai law, employment of children at night between the hours of ten p.m. and six a.m. is prohibited. Yet, I will be on streets alive with children begging, and selling flowers, and playing flutes, and working in the back of restaurants, and looking pretty.

In many of the slums of Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Chiang Dao, staff members from non-governmental organizations report a large number of children who work on the streets at night, literally have no choice. The adults responsible live a shadow life, sometimes in the shadow of Buddhist Temples and corrupt public officials. Many different Thai governmental and NGO organizations are trying to change that. Sustainable Hope International is one such organization. Their passion is education.

Dinner. Thai Style!

Going beyond sixth grade is itself a personal accomplishment for every child in rural Thailand. The pressure is enormous on a thirteen year old to be a source of income for the family. Sustainable Hope offers children becoming youth, growing into adulthood, the opportunity to stay in school. To go one more year. To graduate from High School and maybe go to a vocational school or university. And every year a young person stays in school, it makes a huge difference in their life—and ultimately in the lives of family members, other relatives, neighbors, and communities. Because educated young people give back. They change living conditions. They bring in income not imagined. They develop critical thinking skills that see solutions to problems not considered before.

I am running in the Hospital Hill Run June 2 in support of the passion, the goodness, the cause of Sustainable Hope International in their quest to provide educational scholarships and grants to children living in the poorest of circumstances. Will you join me? Your contribution to Sustainable Hope can change a life! Pledge today. Join me on the finish line race day (it will take a while—be patient)—we’ll go find a new restaurant to challenge our taste buds. And we will count our blessings together… because if you are reading this, you are already better off than 75% of the world’s population!

Huff and Puff

Running… ok, ok, barely walking, up that last hill before completing my nine mile long run outing had me huffing and puffing like the crazy wolf in the children’s story. Yes. I have lost weight. Yes. I am getting my running legs back. Yes. I even work out at the gym (well, when it rains…sometimes) But do you think my time improves (meaning speed). Nope. What the heck is it with getting older and slowing down? Just because 40 is behind me, (ok 50) (…alright, 60) doesn’t mean the body has to go slower, does it? At my present pace the street sweepers will cross the finish line before I do.

I know. Patience. Perseverance. Discipline. And race day (June 2) will see me fly! In some ways, that has been the experience this last year of Ken Brookens as he has explored and explained and engaged a wide variety of sources in Thailand to serve at-risk and orphaned children in a responsible and sustainable way.

Students from Chiang Mai, Thailand

Exploring the opportunities (of lack of) for education for youth in Thailand can be quite discouraging. For thousands of at-risk children in rural areas, the opportunity for an education beyond eighth grade is minimal and the opportunity to pursue higher education is practically non-existent. More likely their future is one of human slavery, prostitution, unskilled hard labor, early teen pregnancy, subsistence living, and an early death. The cycle of poverty goes on and on and on… Encouraging youth to learn; providing an incentive to stay in school; offering a scholarship for higher education; all break the cycle of poverty, changes the life of a child forever, ultimately changes the living conditions of the family, and lastly, gives back to the community a leader who influences the whole village for good. Ken has seen this miracle at work in the lives of youth in Thailand and is committed to making it a reality for more.

Explaining his passion and mission to school principals, government officials, community leaders, and business professionals has taken Ken into Ministry offices in Bangkok, welfare schools in Chiang Mai, legal offices and cafes and hotels and stores everywhere in between. All that explaining has made Sustainable Hope International a government recognized NGO in Thailand. All that explaining has generated excitement, commitment, anticipation, and opportunity in Chiang Mai, Chiang Dao, and Khon Kaen. All that explaining has opened doors in Independence and Jackson County.

Sustainable Hope International has engaged the services of professionals and volunteers in churches, service organizations, community groups, and educational circles. Most importantly, Sustainable Hope has engaged the imaginations of children—hundreds of children--and encouraged them to dream and reach and excel.

My early morning running team in Chiang Mai.
It was already 100 degrees and I was the only one in shorts!

And to do all of that, there has been a lot of huffing and puffing. Not to blow houses down, but to build
up hopes and dreams in a sustainable way in the hearts of at-risk children and in the minds of those who work with orphaned children.

I will run the Hospital Hill Half Marathon, huffing and puffing up all seven hills, to raise funds for Sustainable Hope International. Join me. Partner with me by giving to the cause—the power—the miracle  of education in breaking the cycle of poverty in Thailand. Join me in supporting Sustainable Hope International.

My Belly--the Community Project

Run: Younhidong

4.55 miles

1:05

Run: Mt. Ansan

5.37 mile

1:12

Run: Younhi Stream

5.22 miles

1:12

Weight: 244

I love visiting Asia. I love the people. I love the food. I love the culture. Every trip is a wonderful experience. But I do have to prepare myself mentally. By Asian standards, I am a big man. People notice. I am finally ok with that. But why is it that in a culture with gracious manners, polite references, and no physical contact, complete strangers feel free to walk up to me, poke me in the belly (or worse yet, rub it) and laugh?

As is my practice, I attended church Sunday. It was great to see old friends and meet some new ones. The kids are all growing so fast. And, of course, the slim and trim ahjimas ( a Korean term of "endearment" for middle-aged women with an attitude) gathered 'round, poked and prodded my belly, declared that I was too fat, and took control of my diet for the next two weeks. Mrs. An, a wonderful cook in the kitchen and consumate professional in her career, put me on a nurtri-system soy powder shake, mixed drink, lots of water, pills, yada, yada diet. . . along with kimchi, kim, namyang, udon, and anything else they want me to eat. My eyeballs are floating, my colon is completely cleansed, my pores are oozing salt water, and I am running to the toilet every 20 minutes. I am also running--as you can see by my post. All for the loss of 2 pounds! Dr. Alcox says that's what old age does to your metabolism. It ain't fair!

Well, my Korean friends fuss and make fun of me-- I don't like the attention-- but I fuss over them and the point is this: They care. They support me. We are friends. We are family. We are community. If I am successful in my training for the races in October, it will be because of the encouragement of ahjimas. All of us need support in meeting our goals. All of us need to feel that we belong. Those enslaved in poverty and are ravaged by the violence, disease and human degradation that so often comes with poverty, often are able to effect change for a better life, when the opportunity is given to create community. To band together. To support one another. Together we can fight to end poverty one child, one family, one village at a time. I invite you to join me!

It’s raining. I hate the rain.

Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Time: 32:14

Distance: 3 miles speed run on Yonsei Track plus 1 mile

Date: Monday, April 13, 2009

Time: Lost Track

Distance: 4 miles—16 laps on Yonsei track

Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Time: 1:20:20

Distance: 7+ miles to the river and back

Slogging through the rain just to get in a few miles is NOT an incentive for me to keep up with the training program. But it does mean a work slowdown with the project, so, I must choose between not having the time, or… well, the rain. I love the rain (attitude adjustment there).

The run to the river is chilly and wet, but does help clear the head of all those niggling details of construction and moves me to a new place. Seoul needs this shower. Korea is becoming dry. Way too dry. Water is life. Yet one billion people do not have access to safe water, and 2.6 billion people live without proper sanitation. Water-borne illness is the second highest cause of childhood death in the world. When water is unsafe and sanitation non-existent, water can kill. Providing safe water and sanitation to millions of affected children and their families is one way to help end poverty. How? By supporting efforts to distribute oral rehydration salts wherever children are suffering from illness and deadly dehydration caused by unsafe water, distributing hygiene kits during a crisis to help children and their families keep diseases like cholera at bay, training teachers to educate children about safe water and proper sanitation and building pipelines to bring water to remote villages.

I like to think that I am doing this to help children survive. Almost 10 million children die needlessly every year. They come from families who exist without clean water and sanitation. They have not been vaccinated against childhood illness. They are not protected against malaria. They do not receive enough nourishment to fight malnutrition. They are often affected by AIDS. They do not survive without your help. When I say I am running to end poverty, I am being a part of a global network of individuals and organizations seeking ways to help children survive, to protect children from abuse, give them an education, so that all children lead a healthy, humane, and dignified life.

The water bottle I picked up at the GS Mart for 500 won quenches my thirst. It’s important to stay hydrated. I head back toward my new home in Yonhidong, now barely aware of how sopping wet I am. I am very aware that what “quiches” my thirst could “save” the life of a child. I invite you to join me in running to end poverty one child, one family, one village at a time.

The Wedding Run

>Date: Saturday, 28 March
Time: 3:18:57
Distance: 15.92 miles
우리는따로였던 두 영혼 앤드류 링크하트와 강유리가 이 결혼의 서약을 통해 하나로 함께 되는 것을 축하하고 기뻐하기 위해 모였습니다
Friends we are gathered to celebrate the coming together of two separate lives, to rejoice with Andrew Linkhart and Yuri Kang as they enter into this marriage covenant.
Woo-ri-nuen / ddaro-yut-dun/ du young-hone /Andrew Linkhart-wa / KangYuri-ga /e-kyul-hone-nui / sah-yah-kuel / tong-hae / hah-nah-ro / ham-ggae / dwae-nuen- guh-suel / chookha-hah-go / ghi-bbauh-hah-ghi, we-hae / mo-yut-suem-ni-da Just a few simple words. The groom was a handsome young American. The bride a beautiful young Korean. This was a very special day for Andrew and Yuri. Andrew’s twin brother and his parents from Longmont Colorado were here. Friends and extended family were present. The focus of the day should be on these two wonderful people who have blessed my life with their friendship. I now had the honor of officiating at the ceremony. I had practiced all week a few simple lines in Korean. Kim Me, who translated what I had written and served in that role during the ceremony, had patiently worked with me on diction, pronunciation, phrasing.

Is it possible to have language dyslexia? I swear the words that came out of my mouth are not the words in my brain. I have officiated at dozens of weddings spanning 35 years of ministry. Why was I so nervous with this one? Thankfully, the congregation had no interest in paying attention to the foreign minister. The focus was on the bride and groom. And a lovely wedding it was. It was so much fun to be a part of this celebration.

However, having a wedding buffet before a 16-mile run is NOT smart. I begin with this introduction to my long run because of what happened during the next three hours. As I headed down through Yonhidong, the words that I could not pronounce correctly or memorize were now flowing freely as I rounded corners, crossed streets, and moved with traffic. I could shout out the vows to folks passing by and they instantly recognized the words I was saying. I put the phrases of Shin-boo Yuri, hah-nue-nim-ggae / soon-jong-hah - yah / doo-sah-rahm-e / hahm-ggae / hah-nuen / sal-muel / chi- jahk- hah-myun - sah / kyul-hone-ui / sung-yak-uel /bah-dah-d(t)uel-(ria)yuh / Andrew-ruel / dahng-shi-nui/ shi-rahng-ue-ro / mah-ja / oh-nuel-boo-tuh / ah-pro / gyae-soke / jo-uel-ddae-na / nah-bbuel-ddae-na / booyoo-hahl -ddae-na / ga-nahn-hahl-ddae-na / ah-puel-ddae-na / gun-gahng-hahl-ddae-do / suh-ro / sah-rang-hah-go / ah-gge-gaet-suem-ne-gga? 신부 유리는 하느님께 순종하여 두 사람이 함께 하는 삶을 시작하면서, 결혼의 성약을 받아들여 앤드류를 신랑으로 맞아 오늘부터 계속, 좋을 때나 나쁠 때나, 부자일 때나 가난할 때, 아플 때나 건강할 때도 사랑하고 아끼겠습니까? to the music of Aretha and Willie. I introduced the couple to congregations gathered at stop lights and street crossings: Ghi- bbuen / ma-huemeuro / Kang Yuri -wa / Andrew Linkhart / bubu-ruel / yah-rah-b(p)oon-gge / so-gae-hahm-ni-da. (It is my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Kang-Linkhart.) Folks would pretend either not to hear, or step back, clearing the way for the crazy guy. Words that would not come out properly during the ceremony, were now forcing themselves through my teeth, as if I had turned on the self-cleaning button on the oven. (You know, the ones, that once the cycle begins, you cannot stop until it is finished!) It was only in the exhaustion of mile 15 that the words subsided and I could think again.

Outside my head, Seoul was a busy city on this Saturday afternoon. Filled with hope and Hite, dozens of protesters rallied at Seoul Station around the cause of the oppressed. Police busses lined the streets coming into the station. Further down the boulevard, in the Yongsan area, another protest was in progress regarding the plight of poor home owners being forced out of thier homes by the government, some of whom had lost their lives in a severe fire just two months ago. Running along the railroad tracks, I passed a food kitchen sponsored by a local church. As I swung through the Hongik University Campus, a group of students were passing out phamplets raising awareness of the extreme conditions of poverty in North Korea.

In the last mile, I passed through a block long neighborhood of simple one-room homes, some with tin roofing. Two women were squatting in the street, sharing the news of the day. See, the poor are invisible in the shadows of the multistory apartment buildings that are so prevalent in Seoul—but they are here, just as they are present across the urban landscape of our global village.

Often the poor only have words with which to fight their cause. Their voices are their only weapon. They need to be heard. But will we listen? Join me in running to end poverty one child, one family, one village at a time. Lift your voice in their cause. Let your words flow.

Round and Round We Go

Date: Monday, March 9 Heart Attack Hill and Yonsei Amphitheater Steps
Time: 48 min?
Distance: 4.75 miles

Date : Wednesday, March 11 Yonsei University Running Track
Time: 1:13:02
Distance: 6.23 miles

This week has been quite active with appointments and trips to the construction site. A biting wind wants to accompany us wherever we go. So, I am combining the two runs in this blog entry. Holding oneself accountable for all to see can be a drag--but, that's why I am posting this. WYSIWYG.
Yonsei University has a new running track and soccer field. Until this year, it has been a sandlot that would be unbearable during yellow dust season. The upgrade is nice and is bringing out the neighborhood as well as providing a place for the ROTC class, the Drum Corp, the Athletic Dept, etc. to practice. Only criticism: The field has fake green PLASTIC grass on it. OUCH!

Today, a Korean fellow joined me on the track. Waited until I jogged by, then kept pace with me. His perfectly dyed and combed jet black hair was a tribute to old Korean guys (I suspect he is about my age). His pace was steady. I admired his stamina and he stayed with me through 8 laps, before I gave out (I had already done 8). One of the fears I have overcome is the inability to speak to another who does not speak "my language." In my travels, I have finally found the joy that comes with freely conversing with someone--when neither of us have a clue what the other is saying. I commented on his good looks and athletic style, the weather, his hair, asked him about family and career...he kept up his end with steady comments about I don't know what. Who cares? We enjoyed our time together and I have a new friend and running partner.

Too often, the poor are confronted with those who would talk down to them, talk past them, talk over them, talking around them, but not sharing with them. Those who are poor need friends like you to spend time with them. Listen. And share. Join me in running to end poverty one child, one family, one village at a time.

The Kitchen Sink or Sometimes a Run is Living Life

Distance: 5.1 miles
Time: 1:17:20

After a wimp week of making excuses about the cold and rain, I hit the pavement today. This was my first walk-run since last November. When I think of "going for a run" it is usually with a distance/time goal and specific training tasks along the way, like speed work, tempo run, sprints, hill training, yada, yada. Now, honestly, you know I suck at some of it--like my speedwork is Jack's turtle run, and hill training sometimes becomes survival training--but I do make the effort.

But sometimes "going for a run" just becomes living life. Today was one such run. First, I was trekking to A4 translation to drop off some stuff. On the way, I passed the Yonsei University Traditional Folk Music Drumming Team out practicing on the Soccer Field. One of them recognised me (even with the new white hat I was sporting) and waved me over. Kim Young Ho offered me the drum, because he knew I liked to bang on it (yes, they know me, I like to watch and cheer them on). So after an embarrassing routine--embarrassing for me, they were laughing hysterically, I jogged on. My friend Jack had just seated himself at the snack tent in front of the A4 translation entrance, so, of course, we had a chat and a fish snack.

Later, following the boulevard and then up toward Bongwonsa Temple, I got a little lost, stopped to visit with a wonderful little lady--never understood a word she said, but she did point in the right direction, and loved my beard and laugh. Of course, I was laughing as I was telling her not to pull it, just stroke it. Next stop was the observatory and since I was there, a quick 10 minute workout on the Yonsei Amphitheater steps. After my heart calmed down--and a restroom break, I took off toward the back campus. I thought it would be fun to run down heart attack hill instead of up it. Well, you don't --at least I found out I don't, can't-- "run" down a hill that steep.

At the bottom, I pounded through the intersection just as a bus bounded past. Close call. Up the hill to check in on the construction project and then into the final stretch through Yonhidong. KEB Bank Manager spotted me and waved me down. He had a great time kidding me once it clicked with him that I was out running because I wanted to do something so silly as a marathon--only "crazy people" do that type of thing. So, I told him his bank ought to sponsor me and give generously to the cause. Knowing the culture here, I'll probably get a fruit basket in April.

So, I'm not deceiving myself. I really didn't get a run in today. But I did enjoy living! While poverty often brings misery to one's life, it cannot stop the human spirit from living life. Poverty can consume one's efforts and the struggle to survive can be mundane, routine, painful and/or goal driven --just like some runs I've done. Joy, however, even in the worst of economic, political, and social circumstances, comes from living and loving. My run was filled with both.