25 Mar 2024

The first ever anticipated Okavango River Bridge marathon is said to have attracted local and international competitors to run while helping a worthwhile cause.

Organised by the Okavango Human Wildlife Foundation (OHWF), the first edition of the marathon will be held at the new Okavango River Bridge at Mohembo on April 27 and its main objective is to raise funds to help support people with permanent injuries due to human wildlife conflict.

Currently, the organising team is intensifying the build up to the big day with activations aimed at building up interest and excitement amongst the communities.

The chief organiser, Kenosi Kamina confirmed in an interview after an activation walk held in Maun recently, which was aimed at building momentum and to sensitise the community, corporates and potential sponsors about the primary purpose of the event.

He said they decided to have activation activities in a bid to lure potential sponsors to join forces with the foundation towards mitigating human wildlife conflict through sports tourism.

Although, he said they had not secured a main sponsor at the moment, he highlighted that they were in talks with several companies, of which some had shown interest to support the event.

However, in terms of preparations for the main event, Kamina said everything was on track indicating that registration was ongoing online and expressed gratitude that the country’s top runners had shown interest to participate.

He said the marathon was also open to international athletes highlighting that they were expecting more top runners from neighbouring countries to make it more competitive.

“This is going to be a competitive race as winners will be awarded monetary prices and I encourage all who are interested to participate to come forth and register now and show commitment to social cause.

This marathon is not only for fun and improvement of your own well-being, it will also serve as a means of raising money for the community improvement and wildlife conservation initiatives,” he added.

Kamina further noted that the Okavango District was one area that had experienced more casualties of human wildlife conflict and noted that the event would afford them a platform to raise awareness of peaceful co-existence between people and wildlife.

He said the district was rich in wildlife hence they wanted the communities to appreciate the importance of the animals and see how best they could live harmoniously with them.

The foundation’s intention is to foster a relationship for people to live with the wildlife and preserve them future generations instead of killing them.

“Human wildlife conflict is one of the biggest conservation challenges especially during dry water season. Many water sources become dry and animals intrude human settlements and cause havoc and I appeal with the corporate world and the community at large to support the event and augment government efforts towards promotion of wildlife conservation,” he added.

Furthermore, Kamina said the marathon would also enhance the tourism industry as it would help sell the newly constructed bridge, which has now become a tourism attraction site.

The bridge has been recognised globally following an award of merit by the International Federation of Consulting engineers through the Gaborone renowned CCP Botswana Consultancy company, which picked the project to enter the competition at the Global Infrastructure Conference held in Singapore recently.

The bridge has added value to the tourism package in the Okavango district, which prides itself with the Tsodilo Hills, Gxcwihaba Caves, and the mighty Okavango Delta World Heritage Site.

“I am hopeful that this marathon will also stimulate domestic tourism as many locals would love to visit the area and appreciate the beauty of the bridge,” he added. ENDS