Masaka Town: Blueprint for Africa?
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Allow me, if you will, to take you back to a time long long ago. A simpler time, and rather than reading this on a screen over the internet, we are sat face to face, perhaps in an inn or tavern. 
We’re musing about society’s ills and the world as a whole not being the kind of place it once was. Together we decide we should make a stand, we should speak up for justice, we should feed the hungry, heal the ill, save the animals and generally be good eggs in the world. We don’t yet know it- but we have just set up the world’s first charitable organisation. But what, in practice, does that look like? 
 
When did charity become simply about raising money. When did we stop connecting & uniting people through good works, dedication and love. Indeed the Latin ‘caritas’  meaning dearness, was often used to translate the ancient Greek word ‘agape’ – which simply means ‘love’. The very word charity therefore, means not money, not gifts, but love. It’s so simple. If love is at the centre of your actions then everything else just follows on.
 
Too often we are bombarded with requests that take direct aim at our guilt rather than empower us to help. It’s a sad state that we have allowed this to happen. I don’t blame any charity, I just wish to inspire another way. So how do we change this, how do we go back in time to reinvigorate positive, empowering charity – not because charity today is bad but because there is a growing sentiment that there is a better way. 
 
The dream behind the Uganda Marathon is to utilise Shauku Foundation’s entirely flexible, nimble process to listen to people of Masaka town and help them implement the type of projects that will change the town forever, that will make it a blueprint for any town to follow. We want Masaka town to be an incubator of change that can spread across the nation of Uganda and beyond. And we know, with your help, that we can do it. Our first project took aim at halting the spread of HIV/AIDs right at the root course of the problem – by taking vulnerable girls off the street into a home full of love, education and safety. This is just the beginning. 
 
Each runner will not just have a charity to raise for but their own project. Indeed, if they have specific idea in mind they can chat to the local team in Uganda to help create a project specifically for them. We want our fundraisers and donors to be entirely connected with their project, to feel the power they have within themselves to create change, and to commit more than just their money. We want them to love. 
 
The beauty of this approach is that the impact becomes exponential. Each runner will inspire their community for their cause. Each member of that community can see a clear link between their generosity and the positive impact it has, the changing of lives – they can see their love in action. 
 
And it may seem like I am just switching the word ‘love’ with ‘donation’- perhaps in some ways I am – but the truth is that a donation is only worth the love it is offered with, money for the sake of money doesn’t change the world – your hopes, your dreams and your love definitely does.
Already we have been overwhelmed by the generosity we have seen: from experts volunteering their time to free flights- even our logo was designed by a man who just wanted to help because he loves what we are trying to do. 
 
If you feel love, you act in a way that goes so much further. There is a fundraising target, there is money to be raised but we want this to be fun, so that you go to your friends not meekly, worried they might not want to sponsor. No, we want to Uganda Marathon to be all about a fired up love for justice, for life and for humanity: excited; positive; unashamed. If love is at the centre of our giving then there are no ceilings – only enriched lives and silenced cynics. 

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