Some of the poorest children in one of Africa’s largest urban slums will be able to eat a daily meal at school for the next six months after one of Kenya’s greatest distance athletes pulled on his running shoes in Bermuda during the past few days and started racing again for the first time in 12 years.And it is the goodwill and support of the people of the Island that made it happen.The presence of former World Marathon Champion Douglas Wakiihuri added an extra touch of prestige to this weekend’s Bermuda Marathon Weekend, but a bigger story is unfurling in the background.Because the impact of small gestures of support and friendship by people in Bermuda, including an article in The Royal Gazette, has set in motion a train of events that is improving the lives of impoverished youngsters living in the Kibera slum on the outskirts of Nairobi.And Mr Wakiihuri is also giving back to the Island by visiting schools to speak to Bermuda’s young people, bringing with him the story of how he grew up in Kenya and pursued his ambition to be a world-beating runner and how he is now helping youngsters in the Kibera slum.“Inspiration does not mean you can sit on it. You have to pass it on. I do that by inspiring less fortunate kids in Kibera,” said the 1988 Olympic silver medallist, who came third in the Bermuda Triangle Half Challenge at the weekend.Bermuda residents who have learned about the Mr Wakiihuri’s mission are playing their part. A sale of T-shirts, sponsored by Island-based insurance firm Hiscox, in support of the Kibera youngsters which Mr Wakiihuri then autographed secured more than $2,000 this month. That is enough to pay for at least six months’ worth of daily food for the children, aged 6 -14, who attend a slum school which is assisted by the running legend. It will also allow youngsters in a running group to enjoy a cup of tea and a snack at the school after training before returning to their homes elsewhere in Africa’s second largest urban slum.On his first visit to Bermuda a year ago, the former champion of both the New York Marathon and London Marathon carried back to Kenya running shirts and tracksuits donated by Bermuda’s Mid Atlantic Athletic Club (MAAC). Many of the Kibera youngsters who received the clothing had never had their own T-shirt or tracksuit.Through contacts in Japan, where he lived and trained during his peak racing years in the 1980s, Mr Wakiihuri secured the donation of running shoes for the youngsters. A subsequent article in The Royal Gazette reporting the success of the Kibera kids project led the sportswear company Asics also sending gear for the youngsters, according to Mr Wakiihuri.Last January he helped open a small school in the slum, which accomodates 40 youngsters. He also oversees a running group for youngsters. Some of the youngsters in Kibera barely have enough food to eat each day. Others do not have blankets to cover themselves at night.“We need to find out if each of our runners has blankets, otherwise they will be falling sick every week and they won’t be able to continue with their training. We need to find out who has eaten a meal. The youngsters are happy in the morning to have a cup of tea and bread,” said Mr Wakiihuri.At 47, he is 20 years beyond his peak as one of the world’s great distance runners. But he felt compelled to compete after coming to Bermuda to watch the 2010 International Race Weekend and being shown support for his Kibera youngsters from runners and others on the Island.In the past 12 months he has trained and slimmed down by 40lbs in the process. He realises that people want to see a former world champion running, and that by becoming more high profile in this way he can more easily raise awareness of the Kibera youngsters.The school in Kibera currently uses one classroom and is mostly financed by money raised from water truck deliveries in the area. A second classroom has been refurbished and now awaits school desks. If enough funds are secured for another teacher and to fix up the school kitchen, the facility will be able to double the number of youngsters it helps from 40 to 80, with a further 40 youngsters taking part of the weekly running group.Explaining why he feels it is important to be helping the youngsters in the slum, Mr Wakiihuri explained that many people living in the slum adopt a ‘brutalness’ in order to survive.“Most of the young kids die young. Many can’t go to school and the water is bad. Some get involved in ‘dirty dealing’ in the slum. There are no sports. There is much crime. There needs to be something for the young children, some way that they can make a difference. They might become good runners, or good leaders,” he said, adding that it is about inspiring youngsters to reach their true potential.“Someone did it for me. Yes, I can run. I got the opportunity to go to Japan (and train). I was lucky. I see it as my responsibility to see how many other champions I can inspire. When Kibera sees one of the slum kids in a newspaper I think it will change the mindset, it will lower the crime. I hope we will have someone from Kibera go to the Olympics. I’m sure everyone in Bermuda would also make a noise to cheer them on.”In time, Mr Wakiihuri would like to see a strengthening of the link between Kenya and Bermuda, with athletes from Bermuda perhaps training in Kenya and maybe a promising Kibera youngster being invited to participate in the excitement of the Bermuda Marathon Weekend.He expressed appreciation for what the people of Bermuda have already done, in terms of support and goodwill to MAAC for donating the shirts and tracksuits, to those who gave donations and bought Kibera Kids T-shirts this month and to leading Island runner Victoria Fiddick who was instrumental in bringing him to Bermuda in the first instance after a chance encounter at the 2009 Toronto Marathon.“I want to thank MAAC for the donation from last year. It has gone a long way to providing for the Kibera kids. And doing the race last week we had a group of athletes who donated and ran for the Kibera kids. It is a very good start,” he said.Former May 24 Half Marathon women’s champion Ms Fiddick said: “People have been so supportive. It is a worthy cause. As runners, and as people, we have a lot in common with kids all over the world. We know that Douglas is the man who can bring help to the kids in Kibera.”l Anyone who would like to help the Kibera kids, can contact Ms Fiddick via the Mid Atlantic Athletic Club by e-mailing maac[AT]maac.bm