Athletes drawn from Machakos, Kitui and Makueni are appealing to the Ministry of Sports to consider donating food to the most vulnerable amongst them in the ongoing government initiative to cushion sportsmen.
The athletes, under the Machakos, Kitui and Makueini Athletics Welfare (MAKIMA), cited Machakos as the most hit, thanks to the cessation of movement imposed on parts of the county.
Last week, the ministry disbursed food to 58 athletes identified through the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation.
Led by retired runner Philip Muia, Machakos region feels to have been left out of the government program. Muia said a big chunk of the runners set to participate in the rescheduled World U-20 Championships, are drawn from the region hence should be cushioned too.
“Let the ministry extend the helping hand to this region. We are being neglected yet we have many athletes in the region. The worst part is Machakos County, which is under cessation. This is not good and we would like to urge the ministry under Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed to reconsider her move and think of this region,” said Muia.
He added that the donation should be extended not just to the region but also to Coast, Nyanza, Western and Northern in a bid to reach all vulnerable runners.
“We in Machakos are marked as hotspot area and there is less movement Some race organisers have also not paid athletes and they are living under hard conditions,” he added.
He challenged the ministry to use athletes stakeholders like Athletics Kenya to access data of all athletes in the country.
“I believe the federation and coaches have data of all runners across the country and can help distribute food to athletes in the best way possible,” added Muia.
