The eighth edition of Habitat for Humanity Singapore’s annual barefoot marathon – Bare Your Sole 2016 successfully concluded on Saturday, 10 September 2016 at OCBC Square.
Bare Your Sole 2016 attracted 5,000 participants of all ages and all walks of lives to tread on a 2.5km or 5km route in harmony to raise SG$250,000 for the less privileged. The charity event offered participants a unique and tangible experience of what it is like to walk in the shoes, or lack thereof, of the poor and marginalized communities in Asia-Pacific.
It was a befitting platform for organiser, Habitat for Humanity to advocate for their philanthropic cause and drive awareness for those living in poverty.
Bare Your Sole 2016 was graced by many influencers of the community, including local celebrities and Goodwill Ambassadors, Anita Kapoor and Paul Foster, alongside CEO of Far East Organization and Senior Advisor to Habitat for Humanity Singapore, Mr Philip Ng and Chairman of Temasek Trust and Patron of Habitat for Humanity Singapore, Mr S. Dhanabalan. Official event partner, Nuffnang Bloggerati Limaran Augustina, Yeoh Mong Chin, Valerie Lim and Kelvin Ang (Cheekiemonkies) also lent their support by participating in the walk and campaigning via social media.
Project HomeWorks: Making Homes Cleaner and Safer
Project HomeWorks, Habitat for Humanity Singapore’s local home-cleaning programme, kicked off 10 years ago as a movement to improve the living conditions of the underprivileged in Singapore. The programme has since improved over 1,800 homes in the past decade and increased the quality of life of the beneficiaries they serve, including the elderly, disabled and low income families and individuals.
Funds raised from Bare Your Sole 2016 will be channeled towards Project HomeWorks’ initiatives planned for 2017. The SG$250,000 raised will help Habitat for Humanity Singapore to expand its reach to ensure more clean, safe and healthy homes for the needy communities in Singapore.
National Director of Habitat for Humanity Singapore, Mr Yong Teck Meng mentioned,
“In the past decade, we have seen several people come forward to selflessly lend their time and support to our cause. As we celebrate the tenth year of Project HomeWorks, and Bare Your Sole’s eighth year in the city, we want to express our gratitude to all our supporters for making this day possible.”
Post-Event Festivities
In conjunction with the walkathon, Bare Your Sole 2016 also hosted a series of activities for the whole family while learning more about the work that Habitat for Humanity Singapore does both locally and abroad.
Toa Payoh Senior Activity Centre and local singer-songwriter duo, Ciao Turtle, was also on-site, putting up a string of special performances to provide entertainment for the participants. In addition, there were also arts and craft activities catered to young kids.
A special highlight this year included a specially designed mock-up of a one-room HDB flat for participants to experience firsthand, the typical living conditions of Project HomeWorks’ beneficiaries.
While nude races are unlikely to happen in Singapore anytime soon unlike more liberal countries such as Finland and USA, there is still an observable shift in our local race culture in recent years.
From going barefoot to going shirtless, we are definitely expecting more innovative runs coming along the way! Do you dare to run shirtless?
