A journey of resilience
Today the College welcomed a most extraordinary and inspiring guest, Henry Wanyoike, a champion blind marathon runner. Henry's story is one of true resilience and grit.
His talent was recognised as a young boy who dreamt of representing Kenya one day.
But at the age of 21 Henry suffered a stroke and woke up blind, losing 95% of his vision. “I went to bed a normal person, the following day I found myself in darkness,” Henry said.
With the guidance of sighted runners, he started jogging again. He fell a lot but continued because he said something inside him hadn’t died.
One year later Henry competed and won gold in the 5000m run at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. The champion runner continued to break records in the 5000m and 10,000m events and then broke the marathon world record for blind athletes at the London Marathon and again at the Hamburg Marathon one week later.
His performances catapulted him to prominence in Kenya and he became the recipient of two presidential awards, including the nation’s highest, the Order of the Golden Heart. Thankful for the people who believed in him and driven to use his success to improve the plight of the disabled, he launched the Henry Wanyoike Foundation in 2005.
Across the day, Henry and his colleagues spoke to captivated audiences of Year 6, 7, 8 and 9 students about the challenges he has faced since losing his eyesight but how he recognizes that all challenges in life are an opportunity for growth.
It was important for our students to hear firsthand how overcoming adversity can lead to a rich, full life and that there will be obstacles in life forever, it's how we handle them that make us who we are.
