2020 Rotary Cancer Run to be held virtually

By Our Reporter

The Rotary Cancer Run will be held virtually this year, the organisers have announced.

The announcement was made during a press briefing held at Hotel Africana on Tuesday where the organisers explained that this year’s run can not be held in a traditional way as a result of the limitations and restrictions put in place by government to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, individuals will hence participate in the run from their homes while following the proceedings online via the Uganda Rotary Cancer Programme website ​​and official Rotary Cancer Run ​Facebook Page come Sunday August 30th, 2020.

“Technology gives us options to participate from anywhere in the world. Like we have seen with meetings, we can all take part in this year’s Rotary Cancer Run by running, walking or simply doing exercise at home or in our neighborhoods,” Past District Governor Stephen Mwanje who is also Chair of the Uganda Rotary Cancer Programme said.

He further noted that therefore there will be no kits for participants this year, instead there will be face masks which individuals can purchase to identify with the cause. The masks are going for Ugx 10K.

“I encourage all of you to wear your previous Rotary Cancer Run vest on that day and take a photo or video and share on your social media platforms with the hashtag #RotaryCancerRun2020,” Mwanje added.

Rotary District Governor for Uganda and Tanzania, Rosetti Nabbumba Nayenga said that Rotary is this year involved in Food and Nutrition campaign to promote healthy living and appealed to the public to exercise, eat healthy, and go for regular medical check ups.

“This Rotary year, we are focusing on Food and Nutrition (FAN) as a key objective. Health experts tell us that if we eat healthy and exercise we can avoid cancer. I appeal to all Rotarians and Ugandans at large to practice healthy living, which is one of the ways to fight cancer,” she said.

She added that the Rotary Cancer Run this year comes at a challenging time when COVID-19 is wrecking havoc. “We continue to appeal to people to do everything they can to avoid contracting this disease as well as spreading it. At the same time, we should not forget that cancer still exists and kills many people,” she said.

Speaking at the launch, Fabian Kasi, the MD Centenary Bank said that, “The work on eradicating cancer, building awareness, palliative care still needs all our support. We haven’t yet raised enough money as part of this campaign to build the Bunker at Nsambya hospital. The linear accelerator machines are not yet here too. We therefore still need all your contribution and support. So, even if this year there are no vests to buy, please donate as you can to this cause.”

He remarked that, “Our support to the Rotary Cancer Run and other programs has been on for 9 years now, and I believe through collaborative efforts, we can impact the lives of those in the communities where we operate as individuals and businesses,” adding that, “This year, we have set aside Ugx 100 million as our contribution to this agenda.”

“On top of this, we have made provision for both customers and non-customers to remit their Cancer Run payments and donations through our Centemobile platform and over 4,000 CenteAgents country-wide. We shall also be part of other cancer awareness campaigns planned for this year.” He concluded.

The Rotary Cancer Run is an annual event organized since 2012 by Rotarians to bridge the gap in the fight against the Cancer scourge.

Since it’s initiation, the Rotary Cancer Run has attracted over 50,000 participants annually from Uganda, and the diaspora who have supported either through direct donations, charity drives, or by attending the run to raise funds to set up facilities for Cancer treatment in Uganda, a sign of their commitment to fighting the Cancer scourge in the country.

To date, the fight against cancer has raised more than Shs3 billion, part of which has been used to build the Rotary-Centenary Bank Cancer Centre in Nsambya hospital and the Rotary Blood Bank in Mengo Hospital. Both are operational.

The proceeds from this year’s run will go towards the construction of the bunkers at Nsambya Hospital.