Sozo Children's Run for a Reason 5K to be held in April

Hundreds of runners, walkers, and spectators are expected to take over the streets of Avondale for Sozo Children’s 9th Annual Run for a Reason on April 18th, 2020. The charity 5K benefitting Sozo Children, a Birmingham-based ministry serving the needs of vulnerable children in Uganda, begins at 10:30 a.m. outside Sozo Trading Co. and ends at Avondale Brewery in the heart of the Avondale community in Birmingham.

“Sozo started out of an immediate need to care for the most vulnerable children in Uganda,” explains Suzanne Owens, CEO of Sozo Children. “While serving in Uganda, we witnessed children living in a children's home going without food for days at a time and being totally neglected and abused on many levels. We felt the Holy Spirit move and Sozo Children became a reality soon after,” said Owens.

The ministry began when Owens and her team met a three-year-old girl who could not bathe due to lack of water and whose feet were raw from rat bites. Initially, the new ministry took in 17 children from one former children’s home. Now beginning its 10th year, Sozo has grown to serve 125 children, providing housing, medical care, schooling, and more. Sozo also leads Kid’s Club—a twice-weekly Bible club in the local community. As many as 500 children, some of whom walk miles to attend, share snacks and devotional time.

Participants can register online www.sozochildren.org/runforareason or on the day of the event. There will be plenty to do for friends and family who don’t want to run in the race. After the run, prizes—included hand-carved Ugandan medals—will be awarded at Avondale Brewery followed by a performance from the Sozo Children’s Choir from Uganda. The choir, composed of children served by the ministry, is touring cities around the United States through the end of May 2020.

For more information on the 5K, sponsorship packages, or to sponsor a Sozo child, visit www.sozochildren.org online or stop by Sozo Trading Co. in Avondale for details.