Boston's Run to Remember

Long-time Kaya volunteer, Rebecca Andersen, ran Boston's Run to Remember on Memorial weekend on behalf of Kaya.  Her reflection below documents how she creatively blended her passion for running, children, and Kaya by fundraising for this half-marathon.

Running the half-marathon on Memorial Day Weekend for Kaya Children International was a joy and great privilege!  Running, children, and Kaya have long been close to my heart and woven throughout my life, and I was grateful for this opportunity to train for my first half-marathon and in doing so, to spread the word about Kaya and allow others the chance to learn more about how we in North America can connect with and support the incredible but costly work of bringing hope to the lives of abandoned street children in Bolivia.

One year after graduating college, while working in medical research and anticipating a career in medicine, I heard of Dr. Chi Huang and his work with Bolivian street children through Park Street Church in Boston.  In 2006-2007, I worked as a volunteer/intern with the organization in my efforts to try to understand how to sustain such a grassroots, international, non-profit organization from Boston.  Having volunteered with homeless and underserved populations in New York City during college, I was also wrestling, as I do still, with the questions that Dr. Huang mentions in the epilogue of When Invisible Children Sing:  “I still struggle with my lifelong conundrum… ‘Why must our children suffer on the street?  Why is such evil allowed…’”(p. 293).  In reading the book, I understood more of the complexity – that “street children are not good or bad, but rather complex human beings with good and bad qualities – just like us all.” I also came to understand that while the issues of poverty and homelessness worldwide are unfathomable, there is dignity, life, and God in the act of loving “one child at a time.”

As I trained for this half-marathon through a beautiful spring season, I was reminded of the lengthy and costly process necessary for transformation to occur in the lives of street children, as in our own struggles.  Growth and strength come through perseverance, but I believe only by the grace of a Lord who alone can provide Hope from our deepest heart-struggles.  Running has always been an outlet for me to let go of the pain, anxiety, or anger that I’m feeling and to allow the God who created the human body to speak into my life, and to ask Him to carry these burdens.  As I used to run to Kaya meetings while an intern, before beginning graduate school, it only seemed appropriate to look toward this running fundraiser as a goal to carry me through my final semester and to thank the work of Dr. Chi Huang and Kaya Children International, as they have given me such inspiration and hope when the prospect of “making a difference” seems dim on the horizon.

Finally, as I reflect on this recent run, I am challenged by Dr, Huang’s words in his introduction – that the story is not about us; we can’t deserve the legs, heart, minds, passion, or access to education that we have.  However, when we use these gifts to such ends, we catch glimpses of true joy and redemption in our own lives and in the lives of street children, through Kaya and similar organizations in places of suffering.  These glimpses are not only for our benefit but are part of a bigger story and the eventual unveiling of heaven on earth.

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Easy & highly recommended: using Kaya’s Firstgiving website for your fundraising run/walk/concert/event! The process of training and fundraising for Kaya was very straightforward and injury-free, utilizing Kaya’s Firstgiving website tool to channel and track funds raised for the event, and researching free running training plans from online websites, running friends, and trial magazines.  I highly recommend the process as a way to start a new season in your life, to inspire healthy habits, or most importantly to support the vital work of Kaya Children International as they work toward demonstrating the efficacy of their model of care for use in global communities similar to La Paz.  I can’t imagine better inspiration and would encourage using the Firstgiving website for other fundraising events as well!