NAIROBI, Kenya, August 21, 2026 – As the Standard Chartered Marathon marks 23 years of existence, South Sudan-born Michael Panther may well be the headline act of this year’s edition.
Should things pan out as planned, Panther will become the first man to run in the 42km race on a wheelchair.
However, it is not about Panther cracking this historic milestone; for him, the greatest joy of his heart at the end of the day will be to raise Ksh 100 million towards the purchase of paediatric wheelchairs for children living with disabilities in the country.
“The first thing is that I will be the first person in a wheelchair to be able to do this marathon, and the second is that I’m doing this to create awareness about disability in the country, and then also to raise support for pediatric wheelchairs for children with disabilities here in this wonderful country of Kenya,” he says.
The businessman is motivated by his childhood experience, which he describes as a lucky one that could have turned out differently if did not have a wheelchair.
Panther’s heart bleeds for numerous children across the country who are missing out on the joys of life because they do not have a wheelchair to move around.
“There’s a huge need in this country for pediatric wheelchairs, and I just remember myself as a young boy. If I didn’t have a wheelchair, I would not have the opportunity to go to school, and so my heart is for these young children to be able to get mobility so that they could be mobile, be able to go to school. If you help them when they’re young, you change the trajectory of their life, and they will become somebody in life. My call to action is there’s a huge need,” the Economics graduate from Louisiana State University explains.
Reflecting back on his upbringing, Panther admits that having a wheelchair proved a huge difference in his life, and made him the man he is today.
Having started school in 2007, he finished high school in 2012 before moving to the United States where he enrolled at the Louisiana State University for an Economics degree.
While there, he held various positions including presidency of the International Student Association, Executive Director of Students Outreach in Student Government and founder of the LSU Disability Student Organisation.
He is presently the founder of Hope Mobility Kenya, a charity organization that fabricates and distributes approximately 100,000 wheelchairs to Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) in Kenya.
It saddens him that hundreds of thousands of other children living with disabilities are missing out on such great opportunities due to lack of a wheelchair.
“Here in the country, I think you look at some of the numbers, let’s say maybe over 200,000 children probably are in need of wheelchairs, and they cannot get them. The big challenge that they face is that they are now at home, they are isolated. They seem like they have no future in life, and so we just want to try to come alongside them and give them mobility,” Panther explains.
He adds: “I have my own wheelchairs but there’s so many out there who do not have wheelchairs, and my heart is for them. I am praying that the people of Kenya can also see that and respond to this need to be able to come alongside us so that we can provide wheelchairs to thousands of children that are at home, that are laying on the floor, that are being cared by their parents so that they can have this opportunity to go to school.”
‘I am not limited’
Make no mistake, competing in a 42km is not for the faint-hearted moreso on a wheelchair.
However, etched across the wall of his heart and ringing endlessly in his mind is Eliud Kipchoge’s slogan ‘no human is limited.’
“You know, his big phrase that says that no human is limited, and that really spoke to me at that time because I know that I’m not limited, and those children with disabilities at home are not limited. We need to give them the hope, the dignity they deserve, the opportunity to be able to be somebody in life, and so I am really just being inspired a lot by Kipchoge and his drive, all the record that he has broken. I hope he can do the same too,” Panther says.
Speaking at the same time, the two-time world record holder praised Panther’s mentality and noble desire to extend a helping hand to children with disabilities.
“It is really inspirational and motivational that someone who is differently-abled is taking on such a rigorous exercise to impact children welfare. It is a show mental resilience that will break any social and physical barrier that hinders the active participation of the vulnerable and people living with disabilities in our communities,” Kipchoge says.
The double Olympic champion says that children living with disabilities can excel in sports as much as their able-bodied counterparts.
“Sports have a huge platform for everybody including children with disability. I would encourage them to take on any challenge in the different sports disciplines and conquer the world,” Kipchoge adds.
For Panther, the daunting mountain before him does not strike fear in his heart.
“Our goal here is to produce over about 2,000 pediatric wheelchairs, and each pediatric wheelchair goes for 50,000. That’s what it costs us to produce one, so our goal is to really, we want to raise money to produce 2,000 pediatric wheelchairs, and that goes, that number is around 100 million Kenyan shillings, so it’s a big mountain, but I believe that we have people out there that can come alongside, and let us reach that goal. People can support in different ways,” he says.
For every kilometre, Panther seeks to raise Ksh1,000 from individual well-wishers while corporate partners can support the campaign by donating any amount by channeling it through M-pesa Paybill No: 529901, Account No; 1152126093002.
For Cheque or Bank Transfer Hope Mobility Kenya, Kingdom Bank – Kilimani Branch (Account No: 1152126093002) SWIFT Code: CIFIKENA.
