Run to the first Public Children’s Hospital in East Africa

Thesis

Save 500 children’s lives per day in Africa.

Backstory

In 2011, Toby Tanser completed his “Sea to the Stars” run from the Indian Ocean to the top of Kilimanjaro. The run raised over $100,000 for the construction of the first public children’s hospital in East Africa.

In early 2025, Toby's charity, Shoe 4 Africa, plans to begin construction of a Women’s House at the hospital for the mothers of patients. I have decided to raise money for the women’s house by retracing Toby's footsteps from the coast to Kilimanjaro (completed July 30, 2024) and then continue running another 600km to the Shoe 4 Africa Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya (completed September 14, 2024).

Why build a Women’s House at the children’s hospital?

As I’ve learned, the Shoe 4 Africa Hospital is not your typical hospital. It is a mecca and foundation for the entire child healthcare system in East and Central Africa. Families in poverty travel to the hospital from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Southern Sudan, Tanzania, the DRC, and of course Kenya (catchment area of 30 million) to receive the only free specialized treatment available to their children in this part of the world.

Even though care is free at the hospital, poverty still forces many families to abandon treatment. Shoe 4 Africa surveyed parents in its cancer ward in 2022. 18 of 30 parents had to loan the bus fare to bring their child for initial diagnosis. (The bus to travel the 1000km of my run would only cost about $30 USD.) 27 of 30 parents could not afford a week’s hostel costs (approx $12/night).

Across Kenya, 50-54 percent of children do not complete their cancer treatments in Kenya. This contributes to the tragic fact that 9 out of 10 children with cancer die within 5 years in some East African countries. (85 percent of children in the USA with cancer survive.)

Shoe 4 Africa is building sub-Saharan Africa‘s first public Children’s Cancer Hospital with over 150 beds and a Women’s House for the mothers of patients. Doctors predict that this Hospital and Women’s House for mothers will save 500 children’s lives per day.

I post regular updates on my blog splattern.substack.com.