St. Benedict's Prep junior Ronald Kigen is raising funds for his former orphanage in Bomet County, Kenya. The Chongenwo Orphanage Home relies on donations to survive and is in need of some help. Kigen is starting this YouCaring fundraiser on his own and requesting aid on behalf of the children there.
"I was an orphan myself personally and spent a few years at the Chongenwo orphanage and thus I know it well and especially how hard it is to survive on your own. I'm aware of the pain attached to being an orphan. This orphanage not only provides shelter to unfortunate children, but also works for their education and food. Pastor Meshack runs this orphanage only through the financial support he gets from kind donors and sometimes church offerings." - Ronald Kigen
If you would like to make a donation to his cause that information can be found here.
Kigen came to the United States just before his freshmen year in 2015. Now a student athlete for St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, NJ he's had a successful run of things on the track and the course during his young career with solid PRs and multiple meet wins. During cross country he won the New Jersey Catholic Track Conference Championships his freshman and sophomore year and has a Holmdel Park PR of 16:05. He also placed second in the freshmen two mile running 9:42.24 at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in 2016 on the track.
If St. Benedict's Prep sounds like a familiar place for for talented distance running standouts that's because one of the New Jersey all-time greats Edward Cheserek ran there in high school. After graduating from a historic run at St. Bededict's in 2013 he went on to have an amazing career at the NCAA level during his time at Oregon and recently turned pro signing with Skechers. During the summer of 2010 Cheserek had also come over to the US from Kenya, his home in the Great Rift Valley. The St. Benedict's Prep school has a history of helping international students.
