By Africa24 team
As part of their Cooperate Social Responsibility, the top-notch private telecoms company in Sierra Leone, Africell, has officially launched the Africell 2023 Marathon event.
The grand event will commence on December 10th, 2023.
The launching ceremony attracted members of the Sierra Leone Athletic Association (SLAA), Street Child organization and scores of journalists and Africell’s partners.
The unveiling ceremony was hosted at the Africell Volleyball Court Beach Road in Freetown last week Friday November 17, 2023.
Delivering his keynote address, Africell’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Joe Abass Bangura, expressed great appreciation to all those who made it a point of duty to witness the official launching of the Africell 2023 Marathon.
Mr. Bangura described the marathon as an annual event to be organized by Africell in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Athletic Association (SLAA) and Street Child organization, a prominent NGO operating in Sierra Leone.
Joe Abass Bangura said the marathon is just one of their many activities of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)to Sierra Leoneans.
Africell has been helping many communities in terms of education, sports, entertainment, religion in Sierra Leone over the years.
Since its operation in Sierra Leone, the mobile network operator, has earned a wider recognition in promoting the lives of religious followers of both Islam and Christainity in Sierra Leone.
Muslims in the country have always been getting a large share of support with supplies of bags of rice to honouring The Holy month of Ramadan during fasting periods.
Africell subscribers are also allowed to take part in Africell Ramadan Show, a promotional event which comes up every Ramadan fasting month.
The Ramadan Show has made many subscribers of Africell to win millions of Leones with attractive prizes during Muslim fasting months.
The corporate telecoms, Africell’s interest in entertainment is one that is unmatched by other mobile network operator companies in Sierra Leone.
In 2019, Africell sponsored Sierra Leone Miss University and that beauty pageant event was won by Ouellamatu Jalloh, a Communication, Broadcasting and Journalism student of Limkokwing University of Creativity Technology Sierra Leone campus.
The grand prize for Ouellamatu Jalloh then was a glossy white car with Africell’s brand name on it given to her by Africell.
Other popular Sierra Leonean reality TV shows stars have also been empowered and made popular by Africell.
Africell’s brand with its bright orange colour still remains a rock-solid in Sierra Leone.
Like Puma, Nike, Addidas, Etihad, in Europe and around the world Africell itself is making huge impact on the lives of athletes, football players, local music celebrities, fashion models in Sierra Leone and other countries in Africa it is operating.
And 2023 Marathon event adds to Africell’s long-list of electrifying brand loyalty and beneficial events to its unwavering subscribers, athletes, potential customers and more generally to the people of Sierra Leone.
The athletic sporting event is about giving more opportunities to Africell subscribers to always feel being part of the mobile company’s beneficial programs.
”The event is meant to physically and mentally give fitness to participants – marathon helps improve mental health, it reduces stress and improves the bones of athletes, it improves the social capital of runners,”Mr. Bangura said.
”Our aim is to make the Africell Marathon one of the biggest in Africa and that is why we are going to ensure that we follow international rules and so the event is going to be more standard.
”For the 2023 marathon there will be four different events which will include: Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10 kilometres and 5 kilometres respectively for both males and females participants.”
Africell’s Corporate Affairs head, further said that registration for both 5km and 10km categories are free but registration fee for the half category event is tagged One Hundred New Leones (NLe 100) and a One Hundred and a Fifty New Leones (NLe 150) entrant fee for the full marathon category.
Mr. Bangura also said that there would be ”twelve cash prizes” which would be available to be grabbed by winners of each of the four different events listed above.
The first winner, Bangura said, for the full marathon race, will take away a shocking prize of Twenty Thousand New Leones NLe 20,000, the second person stands to get Ten Thousand New Leones (NLe 10,000) while the third person will go home with Seven Thousand Five Hundred New Leones (NLe 7,500) respectively.
The Corporate Affairs boss emphasized that for the half marathon, the first person will go home with a staggering star prize of a Fifteen Thousand New Leones (NLe 15,000); second person Seven Thousand Five Hundred New Leones (NLe 7,500); Third person Five Thousand New Leones (NLe5,000).
For the 5km the first person will go home with a prize of Five Thousand New Leones (NLe 5,000) while the second person with Two Thousand Five Hundred New Leones (NLe 2,500), the third person One Thousand Five Hundred New Leones (NLe 1,500), adding that all the prizes are for both males and females best competitors.
On his part the ‘measurer’ of the Sierra Leone Athletic Association (SLAA), Alfred T. Dura, thanked Africell for the support they have been rendering them over the years.
He assured Africell’s organizers that with the type of sporting qualification he has bagged as a Grade B Measurer, in Sierra Leone, he is going to ensure that all international rules are followed so that the event will be rated, internationally, as one of the best marathons to be organized in a small West Africa country, Sierra Leone.
Mr. Dura noted that this is the first time Africell and partners are doing full marathon event in the country.
SLAA’s Grade B Athletic qualifier added that the ‘marathon routes’ to be used would be fully monitored by officials from Africell, the Sierra Leone Police and Red Cross Society to ensure that participants correctly follow due process.
Alfred maintained that the full marathon category will commence at 6:30 am in early December, adding that participants are expected to be at the starting place in time for proper record-taking and for verification procedures.
During Christmas festive seasons, Africell are known to be launching similar promotional programs meant to benefit Christians and subscribers of Africell.
Therefore, Africell cuts across cultures and Creeds in its operations in Sierra Leone as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy.
CSR strategies by large businesses are series of activities undertaken to promote the positive image of companies to be benefitted by community people, customers , government stakeholders, etc.
Speaking about their upcoming event, Mr. Alfred Dura, reminded spectators and participants that Africell Office Beach Road at Aberdeen, West of Freetown, will be the starting point for the full marathon.
He emphasized that some special people would be placed at strategic points to ensure that no one cheats during the race.
The experienced athletic official warned that anyone caught in such rogue act by doing ‘short-cut rounds’ would be ‘disqualified’ from participating in the event straight away.