-or another example of impressive power of AEGEE SPIRIT!
There were 42 students. There were 42 kilometers. And there were 42 thousands Zlotych to be collected. All to help the girl named Asia, whose unfortunate accident caused her to lose a leg.
The admirable idea was born in AEGEE-Kraków and was called “42 km to happiness”. All thanks to a 42 kilometers long marathon route that our heroes decided to overpower. But let’s start at the beginning.
Young, courageous and crazy, this is how you can describe 42 students (most of them AEGEE-Kraków members) who participated in the achievement on the 28th of April. You have to overcome pain and weaknesses. And doing this run, in order to help someone in need, is an even bigger achievement. It was rough at first, of course. Initially even a distance of five kilometers caused tremendous effort and pain, but the engagement, motivation and positive thinking made all of the participants cross the finish line of XII Cracovia Marathon. Three months of training and preparation made sure that no one even thought of giving up.
Before the tragedy Asia was a happy and active person. She graduated from Cracow University of Economisc. She devoted her free time to cycling and swimming and her passion is photography. The prosthesis allows her to return to an active, independent life. She would probably never have thought that a group of strangers would be so devoted to her. Even people who do not like running, ran for her. A part of AEGEE-Kraków board ran, our old members, our active members and even guests from AEGEE-Poznań and AEGEE-Katowice. Finally it was not just 42 but almost 60 AEGEE people who crossed their borders to help Asia. How did they do it? The answer is simple – they had each other.
All in all, this is what we do in AEGEE, isn’t it? Pursuing our passion, making dreams come true while helping others. What a great example of AEGEE-Spirit! What a great motivational kick! And finally, what a great example of “yes, we can do anything if we want to!” AEGEE-Kraków couldn’t be more proud! Personally, I am hoping for more projects like this one. With all of the positive energy here in AEGEE-Kraków I am pretty sure I will not have to wait long. Summing up, please keep in mind: everyone is capable of doing big things. Just go and make them happen!
Written by Ola Połetek, AEGEE-Kraków