Dear friends and colleagues,
I am proud to be associated with The Sagroli Sunrise Project in gathering pledges at the upcoming Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2013. I am registered to run the full marathon, having completed the half-marathon in under 2 hours, last year and having recently completed my first full marathon in 4 hrs 11 minutes and 11 seconds at the TCS Amsterdam Full Marathon on 21st October 2012, bib no 1967.
The Sagroli Sunrise Project is a thoughtful initiative to empower children who have been endowed with natural athletic abilities to excel in long-distance running, but whose background prevents access to resources that can enable their excellence in this sport. Sagroli is a tiny village, approximately 85 km from Nanded.
Sagroli Sunrise is conducted by the Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal (“SSM”). SSM is a voluntary organization, founded in 1959 by Mr KN Deshmukh. A school was initially set up for educating under-privileged children in the area, which then had no school within 50 km. The school started with 36 students and a few huts, and has now grown into a 4,000 student institution, providing free education in a well-equipped school building and free boarding and lodging in a hostel accommodating 1,600 boys and girls. It is spread over a 180 acre campus, donated by Mr Deshmukh from his own property. SSM’s services to education have been widely recognized and felicitated at the national as well as international levels.
The Sagroli Sunrise Project derives its inspiration from the strength and commitment of our under-privileged youth. All of the children in the project are students of SSM, currently 35 in number and in the age group of 8-19. Given half a chance, a goal, training, infrastructure and institutional support, they can win. This is the objective of Sagroli Sunrise – to create an institutional framework to provide its young athletes with expert training, a specially designed diet, food supplements and equipment. The project is being implemented in a voluntary, not-for-profit manner. As the young athletes work towards fulfilling their dream for sporting glory, they will continue their education in SSM and beyond ….
The athletes in the Sagroli Sunrise Project have shown commendable progress in each edition of the Mumbai Marathon 2010. In the 2010 edition, the Project was extensively profiled in the media, including a Sports Page headline article in the Times of India, following a victory in the Women’s 21 km run by one of our athletes.
The Sagroli Sunrise Project is an approved charity under the umbrella of the United Way of Mumbai, in connection with the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. Contributions to this noble cause may be made by cheque payable to – “The United Way of Mumbai”.
I thank you all for your generous support to this noble cause.
Subhash Motwani (Runner # 2078)
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