Marathon winner going the extra mile for his homeland

Benard Onsare has collected about 500 pairs of gently used shoes that he intends to bring back to Kenya to distribute among underprivileged kids.

A Calgary man is collecting as many pairs of shoes as he can in the hopes of changing the lives of children in his homeland of Kenya.

Benard Onsare, who won the Calgary marathon as well as numerous other running events, has been running for as long as he can remember.

As a child, he ran 20 km to school and then 20 km back home carrying his books, with no shoes to speak of.

“I got my first pair of shoes when I was 17. When I had my first shoes, it took me a while to get used to them,” he says.

Now, Onsare is doing all he can to make sure underprivileged kids in Kenya don’t have to go through the same thing.

“It just breaks my heart when I think of people running with no shoes.”

He’s started collecting shoes to ship back to Kenya a few years ago.

Onsare has now amassed more than 500 pairs of gently used shoes which he is storing in his apartment and a storage locker.

Many of the shoes have been donated from fellow runners of the Calgary marathon.

“I think it will change everything. Just to give a gift of hope and make a difference better than anything.”

Onsare is looking for help to pay to ship the shoes back to Kenya.

Anyone who is able to help can contact Benard Onsare from Winsport at 403-247-5452.