That’s what friends are for: Hong Kong group raises awareness of spinal injuries by completing 10k Disneyland race in wheelchairs
Quadriplegic Ben Kende raced his friends at Disneyland’s Marvel 10k Weekend to fund treatment and build his foundation
Seven years ago, a rising rugby talent, dubbed the “baby-faced assassin”, was seriously injured five minutes into a game while representing Hong Kong at the Asian Junior Championships in Bangkok. He dislocated his spinal cord and was diagnosed with sudden quadriplegia: limited use of his arms and no use of his legs.
Fast forward to last Sunday and Ben Kende, 25, completed the Hong Kong Disneyland Marvel 10k Weekend alongside four friends – all of them racing in wheelchairs. Together with his friends Jun Sing Lee, Sammy Sinclair, Anthea Lee and Mike Harman, Kende took to the course at the theme park to raise money for his foundation.
The Ben Kende Foundation was set up in 2011 by friends and family to support the Hong Kong-born Australian’s ongoing rehabilitation through fundraisers, from balls at the Hong Kong Football Club to events at popular bars in Wan Chai.
When talking about keeping up the momentum of continual fundraising, Kende said “the wick is only so long on my story”, and explained that in future he wants to raise money in support of others with similar injuries and expand the scope of the foundation.
The foundation set up an online donation page to raise publicity for their efforts at the recent race. The HK$136,000 received from well-wishers will go towards Kende’s treatment, which is expected to cost HK$500,000.