The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage has teamed up with marathon great Eliud Kipchoge and his charity to kick-start the disbursement of relief food to vulnerable athletes affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The drive kicked off at the weekend with 68 athletes benefiting in Kericho, Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties.
Flagged off by Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed on Thursday, it will benefit over 1,500 athletes in the various sporting codes.
The initiative is timely and spot on as it benefits fledgling sportspeople who eke out a living from sport, which has been seriously affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
We join Ms Mohamed and Mr Kipchoge in urging corporate bodies and individuals of good financial standing, including other sports people with good bank balances, to help the suffering athletes at their hour of need as they too bring glory to our nation.
At the same time, we appeal to those deserving beneficiaries, who have not received their package, to be patient because the ministry plans to roll out the initiative countrywide.
Surprisingly, there have been some critics of the drive, who claim it is not inclusive. They, too, need to hold their horses as the weekend event was only the start of the programme.
That Kipchoge has taken time off his busy training schedule to personally deliver the foodstuff is a lesson in humility.
Lastly, we hope that the initiative, as well as the Sh100 million pledged by President Uhuru Kenyatta for artistes and the Sh50 million allocated to Football Kenya Federation by world football governing body Fifa to assist vulnerable footballers, will reach the intended beneficiaries.
Stern action should be taken against any individual or organisation diverting such monies.
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