Thursday, February 4th 2010

By Phyllis Tsang

PHYLLIS TSANG

ASSISTANT INSIDEOUT EDITOR

Runners braved through the cold in Westdale on Jan. 30 during Training for Solidarity, a fundraiser for Haiti relief hosted by Runner’s Den, a running supplies store owned by two Haiti activists, Esther and Gord Pauls.

An estimated 800-1000 runners showed up at Westdale High School as early as 8 a.m. on Saturday with pledge forms and donations, running gears, and a will to help.

“The Training For Solidarity run for Haiti raised over $75,000! Amazing,” stated Esther Pauls’ Facebook status later that evening.

In a large common hall at Westdale high school, tables were set up across the room, stationed with volunteers to collect donations from waves and waves of runners.

“I had over $10,000 given to me,” one of the fifteen volunteers, Nancy reported.

Donations are still coming in after the event. Esther and her husband, Gord, are hopeful that the amount will eventually reach $800,000.

The event gathered runners from Hamilton, Waterdown, Brampton, Bracebridge, Toronto, and more. A volunteer who collected donations that day reported that they were people who took the special occasion to see Hamilton for the first time.

“She was blown away by the beauty of the waterfront,” a volunteer said.

Meanwhile, Hamiltonians’ heart is the beauty that captures Esther’s heart.

“I don’t understand—every time we put on a race, we raise the most money,” said Esther.

Hamilton—referred to as the “suffering city” by some—raises to the challenge in times of need.

“That’s so amazing,” said Esther, “It’s not the riches; it’s the people that suffer [who] realize the suffering and give more.”

The run, which left from Westdale High School, merged onto the Bay Front Park and looped around Parks Canada Discovery Centre, ranged from 5 to 15 kilometres. However, groups of runners ran extra kilometers to show that even though the race had ended, the suffering in Haiti had not.

“Living in Haiti is like a race that never ends,” said Esther, who is grateful for the comfort she has.

That’s why Esther and Gord are not stopping or slowing down either. Their race to help Haiti is far from finished.

Gord is training for triple ironman—a three-day long race totalling 678 kilometers—in effort to raise $250, 000 for Haiti.

For three consecutive days in august, he will swim 3.8 kilometres, bike 180 kilometers, and run 42.2 kilometres.

The money raised will fund Haiti’s new microcredit project initiated by the Joy and Hope of Haiti, a humanitarian group that the Pauls are heavily involved in over the last decade. Their idea is to grant “small, repayable loans that help poor families turn their hard work into sustainable business,” according to Gord Pauls’ website.

“I want to multiply the $250,000 to two and a half million by giving them jobs,” said Esther, believing that the profit will transform Haitian from begging for foreign help to working to become self-sufficient.

Canadians have so far donated more than $67 million, including $45 million to the Canadian Red Cross, CBC news reported. The federal government has removed its original $50 million cap to match Canadians donations because “the giving has exceeded our wildest expectations.”

Tags: haiti