The Mikel Lovina Jamborun is a run that commemorates the passing of Mikel Lovina who passed away at the age of 18 in a car accident 26 years ago.
Mikel and his cousins often used to get together for fun family activities which they called Jamborees. In 2013, family members decided to honor Mikel’s memory with a family fun run. Because the run was another one of their Jamborees, they dubbed it the Jamborun. From then on, the Jamborun became a yearly tradition. And in recent years, the Jamborun evolved into a charity activity in partnership with NVC Foundation, starting with the donation of a pedicab in 2017 and another one in 2018. Mikel’s sister, champion triathlete Ines Santiago, has successfully been spearheading the Jamborun to help many people, particularly hungry children.
In 2022, the run generated funds for 85,439 Mingo Meals for the children of Siargao which had been ravaged by Typhoon Odette. In 2021, the run raised funds for 58,625 Mingo Meals for the Feeding Force Project to combat hunger due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Prior to that, the Mikel Lovina Jamborun raised funds to give Mingo Meals and LoveBags full of school supplies to children in need. When Taal and Mayon volcanoes erupted in recent years, the run funded Mingo Meals for families in evacuation centers.
The Mikel Lovina Jamborun 2023 got off to a strong start early in the morning of January 22. The run continued until the end of January 29. Just like the Jamboruns of 2021 and 2022, the Mikel Lovina Jamborun 2023 was a virtual race. Participants from all over the world joined the race and every kilometer run was equivalent to a Mingo Meal for a hungry child. There were people who could not race but wanted to join the ‘raise’ so they donated directly to the cause. Thanks to everyone’s combined effort, 300 children of the Batak and Tagnanua tribes in Palawan’s St. Paul River Subterranean National Park have been enrolled in NVC’s Mingo Meals Nutrition Program for six months.
This year, runners had three target distances to choose from. These distances had a special significance:
11km – to celebrate the 11th Jamborun
26km – to celebrate Mikel’s 26th death anniversary
44km – to celebrate what would have been Mikel’s 44th birthday
To raise even more funds for Mingo Meals, the organizers sold limited edition Jamborun 2023 merchandise. This cap sold out after just a few days!
On March 20, boxes of Mingo Meals reached Puerto Princessa, Palawan. From there, they had to be delivered to the specific sites where the various feeding programs would take place.
On April 14, the team on the ground kicked off the feeding of the first batch of kids in Marufinas. This was spearheaded by Marigs Laririt (first photo) who was assisted by members of Project Happiness. We’ll keep you posted regarding the feeding of children in our other target communities.
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