Taiwan citizens have rescued a Kenyan athlete forced to hawks socks at a sports park in the Asian country after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted his revenue streams.
Thomas Muli, a 36-year-old athlete relocated to Taiwan in 2018 to study Chinese at National United University’s Chinese Language Center and depended on marathons to raise funds to support himself and his family back in Kenya.
The COVID-19 disrupted his career and calender, forcing him to resort to hawking socks at Miaoli Zhunan Sports Park.
All running events were shelved in Taiwan as the country fought against COVID-19 pandemic.
Taiwanese nationals joined hands to support him in awe of his running talent and launched a fundraiser that enabled him to pay his tuition.
“Taiwanese are very good people,” Muli appreciated as quoted by Central News Agency (CNA), Taiwan. He also expressed gratitude at the hospitality accorded to him.
He was also offered a job as a running coach to enable him to meet other basic needs and to support his family in Kenya.
Muli stated that he hoped to race once again and also to return to Kenya after the reopening after completing his education in Taiwan.
Among his notable races is one in Kenya where he finished at 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 3 seconds and a half marathon in France in 1 hour, 7 minutes, and 9 seconds.
In 2019, he won the Shengang and Sun Moon Lake Marathons in Taiwan.
Taiwan has been lauded for being on the countries with the best response against Covid-19.
As of Wednesday, July 1, the country had recorded approximately 447 positive cases.
