[Written by Brian Fulp]
I never knew that a race on city asphalt could change a nation, nor did I ever think that my Rotarian fellowship with complete strangers in a land called Ipswich would present another miracle.
It all began with a Cameroonian Magistrate – President of the High Court to be exact – who refused to keep his runners hidden and hungry in the hills of Kumbo. And as you have probably guessed, his Honor is also a member of Kumbo Rotary.
Roland MBenkam is this man, the Kumbo Rotarian, who broadened my world view. He visited the US with the first delegation from Cameroon to ever take part in the Boston Marathon. He made a request of Honesdale Rotary that while his team was in town, could we provide support for the runners and trainers from the Kumbo Milano Sports Academy. Who could resist this humble request?
Honesdale Rotary fed them, helped with accommodations and media exposure, and also made contact with the Ipswich Rotary Club near Boston. Ipswich held a grand celebratory party for the team and they all hosted them with VVIP treatment. In case you didn’t read the paper that day, three of the four runners from Kumbo finished in the top 50 places in the Boston Marathon. These totally unknown runners won the hearts of the crowd that came to view the 25,000 world class athletes gathered on that day.
My pride as a Rotarian swelled from my heart to my throat. The family that is Rotary spans the globe and with that comes an entire world friends.
