It was a fun and joyous occasion as 4,000 people from all walks of life and background came together to celebrate World Kidney Day Run and Carnival 2013 at Dataran Putrajaya. Many members of the public were very enthusiastic about the event as they gathered there as early as 5am to register for the run and cyclethon. This event was jointly organized by the Malaysian Society of Nephrology (MSN) and NKF in collaboration with the Medical Development Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
The day-long event saw participants who came together to pledge their support thereby reinforcing the theme for this year’s campaign – ‘Kidneys For Life: Stop Acute Kidney Injury’. With the aim to raise awareness on the importance of our kidneys to our overall health and to reduce the impact of the disease and its associated health problems, World Kidney Day started off in 2006, and has since become an annual event celebrated globally.
The focus for this year was to raise awareness of “Acute Kidney Injury”. This year, cyclethon was included as an event.
Various booths catering for numerous activities ranging from various games to food were set up. Everyone participated andenjoyed themselves. The highlight of the event was definitely “Star Wars” as participants and guests were treated to a specialappearance from Darth Vader and his famous “Stormtroopers”. Guests were allowed to snap photographs with the Star Wars crew upon each making a donation of RM10 to NKF.
The event was graced by Guest of Honour, Y. Bhg Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, Director General Of Health, Malaysia, who conducted the first “flag-off” for the 12 kilometer marathon. Winners received medals and prizes worth more than RM10,000 which included RM500 for first place in the adult category and RM300 first prize for the 13-17 year old category.
In all, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the sponsors, participants and those who had supported the World Kidney Day Run & Carnival 2013. All monies raised from the event were channelled towards NKF’s prevention and welfare activities.