Kuwait City, Kuwait: More than 400 employees from Alghanim Industries, one of the largest privately owned companies in the region, participated in the sixth edition of the Gulf Bank 642 Marathon on Saturday 16 November 2019.  This year, Alghanim Industries teamed up with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), joining the 2 Billion Kilometers to Safety campaign, to show solidarity with the millions of people forced to flee their war-torn homes. The campaign’s name refers to the 2 billion kilometers refugees around the world walk to reach the nearest point of safety, according to estimates by the UNHCR.

The event brought together more than 9,300 people representing over 100 different nationalities to participate in the race’s four different categories. Alghanim Industries covered the registration fees of all its participants as part of its commitment to support employee activities that promote health and wellbeing, while also providing an opportunity for employees to express support of a meaningful cause.

Commenting on the company’s participation in the event, President of People and Strategy at Alghanim Industries, Syed Hashim Gillani said: “We are honored to partner with the UNHCR in their Step with Refugees movement, raising awareness about the millions who leave their homes and walk billions of kilometers to safety. Embodying the values we promote is important to us as a company, and we’re proud of all our employees who participated in the marathon and contributed to this campaign.”
 
The marathon, which is Kuwait’s only AbbottWMM-accredited marathon, kicked off on Saturday morning from Souq Sharq, and included four different categories at different difficulty levels for those looking to run or walk. The categories were: 5km family fun run for beginners; a 10km for amateur runners, an advanced 21km half marathon, and the 42km full marathon.
Alghanim Industries has partnered with UNHCR since 2017 to support a series of education programs, including language skills and homework support groups, to prepare Syrian children to be contributing members within their host countries or upon their return to Syria, with the hope of preventing a lost generation.