Chandaria’s Sh10m Rudisha gift

Vintage Manilal Premchand Chandaria. Or, simply, Manu Chandaria. His huge philanthropic heart never ceases to amaze.

On Wednesday night, Kenyan sport was rubbing its hands with glee after the billionaire industrialist continued his latest love affair with track and field, the biggest beneficiary of the night being Kenya’s Olympic 800 metres champion and world record holder David Rudisha.

After awarding Rudisha roofing sheets worth Sh250,000 courtesy of his dinner-hosting company Mabati Rollings Mills (MRM), the 85-year-old Chandaria and his wife, Aruna, surprised the Kenyan captain by awarding him Sh10 million to help nurture youth talent!

With the windfall, Rudisha will build a stadium in his Kilgoris home area to help nurture budding track and field stars.

It was the first gathering, under one roof, of all of Team Kenya’s Olympics and Paralympics medallists since the London Games with MRM dishing out roofing sheets worth Sh250,000 for gold medalists, Sh150,000 worth of the sheets for silver medalists and Sh100,000 worth for bronze medal winners.

Only 10,000m silver medallist Sally Kipyego and marathon bronze medallist Wilson Kipsang, both out of the country, were missing.

And for breaking world records at the Games, MRM gave Rudisha and Paralympians Abraham Tarbei and Samwel Mushai each a further Sh100,000 worth of roofing materials, with a similar reward for Mary Nakhumicha who received the top Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award for promoting the Paralympic Games.

Kemboi dance

“Our decision to support Team Kenya and to once again appreciate the equally graceful performance of our Paralympians is premised on the ingredients which the athletes exhibited from the beginning of the long journey that culminated in the 2012 Games,” Chandaria, the chairman of MRM and Safal Group of Companies, said.

Chandaria had hosted Team Kenya to an exclusive dinner next to Buckingham Palace in London and on Wednesday, he continued his new commitment towards Kenyan sport by hosting the team to the high profile dinner attended by, among others, executives of his companies, sports minister Paul Otuoma, his permanent secretary James Waweru and National Olympic Committee of Kenya officials led by chairman Kipchoge Keino.

Chandaria was in high spirits at the dinner, gyrated the “Kemboi dance” to the tune of Philip Yegon’s mega hit, Emily Chepchumba, to the huge applause from the excited diners.

He showered Rudisha with praise for his world record run but warned that it would be hard to sustain success.

“Success is very slippery…unless you can make a difference in your village, district, province or country, that success is nothing,” he said.

“People look at you as role models and the younger people look up to you, so success must be converted to significance.”

Sports minister Otuoma and Olympics legend Keino both called for early preparations for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics conceding that a lot of lessons have been learnt by the performances at the London Olympics that fell below expectations.

At the Olympics, Kenya won two gold, four silver and five bronze medals while at the Paralympics, the medal count was 2-1-2.