By Martin Parnell, Rotary Club of Cochrane, Alberta, Canada
In April of 2023, I met David Falconer, a high school principal from Cochrane who works in Calgary. Falconer is founder of “Classrooms Without Walls,” an organization that provides online educational courses for students in Myanmar, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. I offered to give a talk to these students about my trip to Afghanistan.
In 2016, I went on a journey that many believed was madness: running a marathon in Afghanistan in a quest to fight for women’s rights and gender equality. This was not the first time I had been called crazy. In 2010, I ran 250 marathons in one year, and in 2013 climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 21 hours. Those two endeavors were part of my “Quest for Kids” initiative, which raised $1.3 million for the humanitarian organization Right To Play and gave the gift of hope to over 27,000 children around the world.
It was while recovering from a rare and life-threatening blood clot in my brain that I read about Zainab, the first woman to run a marathon in Afghanistan. I was so inspired by her story that I decided that if I was able to recover from my illness I would run with her at the next “Marathon of Afghanistan” in support of rights for girls and women. I did recover, and I did run that marathon.
In May 2023, I made my presentation about that trip to a group of 40 students. It went well and made me think that I wanted to do more. I proposed to David that I would like to be a volunteer teacher and give a weekly 12-lesson course entitled “The Adventures of Marathon Martin and Friends.” Each lesson would include a presentation, Q&A, and a three-question assignment.
In early July, I presented the first lesson to a class of 45 Afghan women. I had a teacher’s aide, Marwa, who lives in Kabul. As the course progressed, one question that came up from a number of the students was: What do we do next? How do we keep the group together? I reflected on this and came up with the idea of establishing an online community-based Rotaract Club. I talked to Marwa about the idea and she loved it. We talked to the students about the idea, and in total 20 of them wanted to be part of this club.
In mid-November, David and I made a presentation to the Rotary Club of Cochrane board. They agreed that we would be the sponsor club and that we would cover the club start-up fee and the membership dues for these individuals.
The first club meeting was held on 3 January 2024, and on 1 September, the Rotaract E-Club for Peace and Education was officially chartered with 22 members – 18 of them Afghan women.
On 22 September, the club held its charter ceremony. Manvi Pant of the University of Calgary Rotaract, and Marwa, president of the new club, served as master of ceremonies. The event was attended by several Rotarians and guests. Two surprise guests were Rotary International President-elect Mario Cesar Martins de Camargo and RI Director Chris Etienne.
Congratulations to all involved in this outstanding achievement. We are all stronger together.
Martin Parnell is a motivational speaker, author, and marathon runner. He has written three books and is the executive producer of the documentary The Secret Marathon, which tells the story of his efforts to empower women and girls in Afghanistan through sport.
