For the 5th year in a row, BNP Paribas employees ran the Luxembourg Marathon to raise money for the non-governmental organization SOS Village d’Enfants. The bank pledged a certain donation per employee to cross the finish line, motivating some 200 staff members to get into shape to run the 42-km race.

SOS Village d’Enfants, a Luxembourg organization belonging to SOS Children’s Villages International, is dedicated to helping orphans and other abandoned and destitute children in 132 countries. With 491 SOS Children’s Villages and nearly 400 Youth Facilities, it has helped 59,000 children find homes in its 35 years of operation. In addition to providing Strengthening Programmes for families and education for young people, the organisation also undertakes a number of projects in the developing world.

One such project was the recipient of the funds raised at the marathon. Emergency aid is badly needed in Niger, where some 10,000 children and their families face the threat of renewed famine. A weak rainy season devastated crops last year, and the harvest did not yield enough to last until next autumn. According to the UN, some 7.8 million people are on the edge of a major food shortage, and intervention is badly needed.