Oto with his son, Liam, at the Chicago lakefront.
At Independence Plus, Inc., we know Oto Hadid for his helpful attitude and his ability to work with our HME equipment and supplies. But now we have more reason to be proud of our colleague – for running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon to raise money for his church and for World Vision, an organization dedicated to bringing clean water to children in Africa. We sat down with him earlier this week to ask him a few questions about the motivation for his upcoming race.
Q: When did you decide to run the Chicago Marathon?
A: I started actively training in April but I’ve always liked to run and play soccer.
Q: What drew you to want to support World Vision?
A: When I was growing up in La Union, El Salvador, my job was to carry enough drinking and cooking water for my five brothers and sister, my Mom, and me. My family didn’t have clean water for drinking and cooking. Every day, clean water was a mile away from my house. I did this from the time I was about 10 until I was 14.
World Vision gives 85% of all donations directly to providing clean water to children in Africa. These children spend most all of their day carrying water for their families. They walk the equivalent of a 6k for a single container, and the water isn’t even that clean. There is no time for these children to go to school. I remember what it was like when I was responsible for carrying my five-gallon container on my shoulder – and it was only one mile each way for me.
Q: How much money are you trying to raise?
A: My goal was to raise $3,000 and I’m about halfway there.
Q: I see there’s a photo with one of your sons. How does he feel about you running in the Marathon?
A: Liam’s my oldest son and he’s 10. Sometimes he rides his bike beside me while I’m running. He tells me I don’t run fast enough. I’m expecting to finish in five hours (averaging 10:30 minute miles).
It’s not too late to support this charity! Click here to view the donation website.