Photos have been removed from this issue because of a law in Kenya requiring strict documentation for photos and videos featuring school children.
We are pleased to announce that Aliphine Tuliamuk, United States Olympic team long distance runner, is supporting Libraries For Kids, Int’l. Aliphine, is a Kenyan-born American long distance runner. She grew up in a tiny village in Northwest Kenya in West Pokot County near the border with Uganda. She knows first hand the challenges that rural schools have in providing education for their children when you have no electricity or internet access and minimal resources for books and supplies. She is the first woman from her village to graduate from college, with a major in Public Health from Wichita State University.
Aliphine was an All-American at Wichita State University and became a First Team NCAA Division I All-American in cross country in 2013.
She placed first at the 2020 Olympic Marathon trials in Atlanta and represented the United States at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Tuliamuk has been a world class athlete since placing 9th in 21:09 at 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Junior women's race. Tuliamuk ran 33:43 to place 15th at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Tuliamuk placed 3rd at 2019 Rotterdam Marathon in 2:26:50.
Aliphine is endorsing Libraries For Kids, Int’l because she grew up in rural Kenya and know first hand how challenging it is to get an education when you don’t have books.
Aliphine lives in Arizona with her husband and daughter Zoe. She is sponsored by Hoka shoes.
We are blessed to have some amazing volunteers and board members. One of our board members, photographer Jean-Marie Cote has been working on a documentary for us. The short version is finished so click HERE to watch. The video begins with the children at Kongoni Primary School (pictured below) chanting their school motto "I Believe I Can." I loved hearing them recite their motto. Visiting their school was one of the highlights of my trip to Kenya last September.
