Opportunity Call: Youth Race: Mission (mostly) Accomplished

Last week the Beirut Marathon Association organized a youth race in which thousands of children and youth participated. A number of our boys were kindly invited by SKILD, a local learning center, to participate. I supervised the outing and had a very straightforward mission: Get 19 boys to the race through a 5K course and backsafely to Dar El Awlad. Technically I failed the mission. Halfway through I received a call informing me that a one of my boys was being taken to lost-and-found. He registered a DNF (Did Not Finish). It wasn’t a surprise; before I even arrived at the starting line I had received a call requesting me to retrieve the same child after he reported himself lost to event staff. I did get him, but obviously couldn’t keep him.

I may have failed the mission, but the experience was by no means a failure. Lebanon is going through difficult times and events like this are powerful demonstrations of symbolic and practical encouragement for positive movements. The race was intended to generate support and awareness for special needs kids, and for our special children it was a great day to be in Beirut. Whether they ran, walked, or were escorted to the lost and found, they all had a wonderful time participating in a meaningful initiative. And all returned home safely!