Nairobi News

Several roads in Nairobi will be closed on Saturday to make way for the annual Mater Heart Run fundraising event.

According to Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) eight roads within the capital city will be affected during the annual event organized by Mater Misericordiae Hospital.

The roads to be affected by the four-hour part closure, from 7am to 11am, include City Hall Way, Uhuru Highway, Valley Road, Ngong Road, Mbagathi Way, Lang’ata Road, Aerodrome Road and Parliament Road.

“Reference is made to your letter on the above dated May 22, 2018 seeking for approval for part closure of…. on Saturday, May 26, 2018 from 7am to 11am for the annual Mater Heart Run event. We have no objection to the closure subject to full involvement of the traffic police who will oversee its closure,” read in part the letter to Mater Hospital from Kura director general Engineer Silas Kinoti dated May 23.

Mater Heart Run is an initiative that helps raise funds for the Mater Cardiac Programme which identifies and treats children with heart ailments and has helped many children from poor backgrounds.

CARDIAC SURGERY

To date more than 3,093 children have been treated either by surgery or interventional cardiac catheterization by the Mater Cardiac Program which started over 20 years ago in 1996.

The program has grown from 20 open hearts annually to 200 cases a year majority of who are Kenyan children whose parents cannot afford the cost of cardiac surgery.

Nation Media Group has partnered with Mater Hospital, to support the Mater Heart Run, which takes place on the 26th of May this year.

This year’s run will be held simultaneously in nine different towns namely, Nairobi, Mombasa, Machakos, Mumias, Kisumu, Nyeri, Meru, Eldoret and Nakuru.

Last year, the event kicked off with a warm up session at Nyayo Stadium before proceeding to Uhuru Highway through Bunyala Road then to City Mortuary roundabout and later joining Mbagathi Rod and finally returning to the Nyayo Stadium through Lang’ata Road.