AFRICA RUNNERS

RAISING MONEY FOR CHILDREN IN AFRICA

Southern Africa is one of the world’s poorest regions. Many children there have limited opportunities to pursue an education, which means they have few perspectives in life. As Africa Runners, we want to do our part to help change these children’s lives for the better. Africa Runners have raised almost €1,000,000 in recent years, making a major contribution towards helping these children.

Africa Runners raise funds on an ongoing basis to help benefit the Umckaloabo Foundation’s projects. The Foundation creates schools and preschools in southern African countries so that children and young people there can grow up in a safe environment and receive a school education. This paves the way for them to have different life perspectives: it opens doors towards leaving poverty behind.

Join the team as a ...

Join us: become part of the team of Africa Runners and help children create a better future for themselves. And you can take part without even going to much trouble, since you can decide for yourself which event you want to turn into your Africa Run. It doesn't matter whether you're running the New York Marathon or a 10K close to home, you can choose any stretch to make it your Africa Run and raise funds for children in Africa.

Join the team!

FAQ Application form

Africa Runners run to raise funds for aid projects in southern Africa. Sponsor a runner and support a run with a donation to benefit a secondary school in Zambia. Sponsors can donate directly and regardless of the distance for the runner of their choice. Sponsors simply enter a desired amount in the donation form of the runner they want to support.

Donate for a runner

The Schwabe Group matches donations!

Even the smallest of donations has twice the effect, because the Schwabe Group matches every contribution up to a maximum sum of €75,000! And by the way: The entire amount of your gift goes to the aid projects, because all of the organizational activities and administrative tasks are carried out by volunteers.

10 years of Africa Runners! We have big plans: This year, we are raising funds to build a secondary school in Zambia. The newly planned secondary school will be the first time that many children from the rural town of Choma, Zambia have access to high-quality schooling. This educational project is designed so that disadvantaged young people in particular have access to good schooling and thus have opportunities for a better future.

Our 2025 project

Africa Runners - Projekt 2022 - Makululu-Compound_2021.jpg

The initiator of "A School in Africa" is the Umckaloabo Foundation, which has set itself the goal of giving children and young people in southern Africa a future with prospects and a self-determined life through sustainable, successful educational projects. Since it was founded in 2010, the foundation has implemented over 65 aid projects, helping over 50,000 children! Learn more about the foundation's background and vision for the future at:

Umckaloabo Foundation

Africa Runners raise €137,500 for for five elementary schools in 2024

An impressive €87,500 came together as the total amount which AfricaRunners raised for five elementary schools in the Eastern Cape in 2024. And since the Schwabe Group matches donations up to a maximum of €50,000, we were proudly able to contribute €137,500. A fantastic record!

The donations the runners collected will go, among other things, towards correcting some severe structural problems which have developed over the years at the school buildings. In addition, the funds raised will be put towards upgrading the quality of the education at these school, especially the fundamentals of teaching children how to read and write.

Huge thanks to all of the runners, the many large and small donors, the people who helped before and during the race, and the Schwabe Group, because:

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Nelson Mandela