Press release: Barefoot Torchbearer keeps the Olympic Flame alive

An Olympic Torchbearer from Consett, County Durham, has decided to donate his torch to a gym for boys and girls living in a slum 8,000 kilometres away in Kenya, who inspired him to run his leg of the Torch Relay barefoot.

Council worker John McBride, 48, who was nominated by the Catholic aid agency CAFOD, will run his leg of the Olympic Torch Relay at Barnard Castle in Newcastle on Wednesday 20th June.

Each year John runs the Great North Run to raise money for CAFOD, completing the final mile barefoot as an act of solidarity with poor youngsters who cannot afford shoes in Nairobi’s Korogocho Slum. He will run his leg of the Torch Relay barefoot.

He will travel to Korogocho on Friday 22nd June to deliver the symbol of the Olympics to the St John’s Sports Society, a gym for young people in the slum, which – thanks to support from CAFOD – is free to use for under-16s.

John explains his decision to donate the torch:

“When the Torches started selling on e-bay for tens of thousands of pounds, people were telling me all my troubles are over. But there was never any chance I’d sell mine. I wanted to do something which captured the Olympic spirit, and I know in that gym in Korogocho, the Torch will act as a symbol of hope.

“It will stand there as a reminder to all those young people that their dream of competing in the Olympics for Kenya is not a distant fairy-tale, but something they can reach out and touch with their own hands.

“I run barefoot for CAFOD because, when I went to Korogocho two years ago to see their work in action, I saw so many children playing in the streets without shoes, and that small act of removing my trainers reminds me of the reason I’m running. I’ll be wearing the official tracksuit when I run my leg of the relay, but my bare feet will show who I’m doing it for.”

CAFOD Director, Chris Bain, hailed John’s decision:

“Many people feel the Olympic Torch procession has been hijacked by the big corporations. And when some of the early runners sold their Torches
on e-bay for thousands of pounds, it reinforced the feeling that it was all for profit.

“John’s decision to donate his torch to the St John’s gym is a wonderful antidote to that feeling, and it reinforces all the ideals and values that the Olympic Games are supposed to represent.

“The pride that those young people in Korogocho will feel having one of the Olympic Torches in their Sports Society is a pride that no amount of corporate sponsorship can ever buy.”

Father John Weebotsa, who runs the St John’s Sports Society, also welcomed John’s donation:

“Life is hard for young people in Korogocho. Almost 200,000 people live here, packed into less than a square mile of space. There is very little here for young people, and even for the ones who make it through secondary school, unemployment is high, and many fall into drugs, crime and violence.

“The Society is one of the few places where young people in Korogocho can escape their everyday lives. The boys and girls can play football, basketball, netball, boxing and karate. They have fun, but they also learn confidence, team work and discipline.

“And in a community which has been divided in the past by ethnic rivalry and violence, my dream is that the Society acts as a haven of peace. We can show that sport can create change in Korogocho, that the slum reality is not the real one, that these young people can have a better life, and we can build it together.

“Most of the young people at the Society dream of representing Kenya at the Olympics. They want to be champions for their country, and show that young people from Korogocho can do something special.

“The Torch John is giving to us will stand in pride of place in the Society; it will inspire the dreams of our young people, and make them believe that their dreams can be realised. That is what the Olympics really means.”

Notes for Editors

• John’s leg of the Torch Relay is due to take place at 15.14 at Barnard Castle in Newcastle on Wednesday 20th June. Footage and photographs of his run – and of the handover of the Torch to the St John’s Sports Society on the weekend of 23rd/24th June – will be available from the CAFOD press office at the number below.
• John has run the Great North Run for CAFOD for the last 15 years, and began running the last mile barefoot 4 years ago, after his first visit to Kenya. He is known locally as the ‘Barefoot Runner’ and was nominated by CAFOD to take part in the Torch Relay in recognition of his fundraising efforts and of the talks he gives in local schools and parishes about CAFOD’s work in Kenya.
• CAFOD is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development which works with communities across Africa, Asia and Latin America, working to fight poverty and injustice. The agency works with all people regardless of race, gender, religion or nationality.
• For more information, footage and images, please contact Ellie Wilcock on: ewilcock@cafod.org.uk / 020 7095 5451