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| Patrick McGrann works with children in Abéché, Chad, near the Darfur region, and hopes to set the world kite record there,
with up to 4,000 kids in a refugee camp flying kites in unison. Courtesy of Kitegang |
A 'kite runner' says it's OK to have fun in Darfur
Patrick McGrann wants to help refugee children take back their skies, create jobs for the needy, and maybe even set a world record at the 'Darfur Kite Festival.'
from the November 7, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
"That was the straw that broke the camel's back," he says. "I'd grown up seeing Sally Struthers on late-night TV talking about hunger.... These people wouldn't [ride] coach to a conference. But I wanted to see hunger for myself."
He managed a trip on his own to Ethiopia in 2003. At first glance, he recalls, "I'd seen much worse in the highlands of Bolivia and Peru," until, while hitching a ride on a truck, McGrann watched a young man dying of AIDS deposited at a remote clinic, its doors locked, with no lights.
It was time to come home to Minnesota, work in his mother's shop, settle down, and meet a nice woman – which he did. As it turned out, his girlfriend's family owned a jewelry business that needed to be restructured. McGrann helped her navigate those financial waters, and the two decided to take their profits – about $100,000 – and invest in something good. He favored economic development in poor countries. She favored kiting, a love of her grandfather's.
Thus, Kitegang was born, with initial stops in Burma, Malawi, and Kenya, showing children how to fly kites and teaching others how to make them. Even as his romantic relationship fizzled, McGrann's work carried on. Through his connections with aid groups and the UN, the world record awaits him, barring unforeseen circumstances, that is. The recent arrests of French journalists and aid workers for trying to "adopt" children from Chad concerns McGrann. He suspects that controversy will trigger more scrutiny of unorthodox initiatives such as Kitegang.
"But I know the folks there really want to set the world record," McGrann says.
They want to take back their skies.
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