 Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Wade. And I'm Robin Basilen. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live. In 2010, Wesley Corrier worked as a maintenance man. One day, he fixed a woman's light. She talked to him while he worked. She told him that she had watched the Chicago Marathon. This race is 26 miles long. The woman described one surprising runner. He began near the back of the group of runners. No one knew who he was. But he began to run past all the other runners. He finished in fourth place. The woman thought this fast runner was amazing. Wesley Corrier began to laugh. He finished his work fixing the light. Then he told the woman why he was laughing. That was me, he said. The woman was shocked. Since then, Corrier has won many running races. But he is not just a runner. He is also working to improve his country. Today's Spotlight is on Wesley Corrier, Kenyan Marathon runner and politician. Wesley Corrier grew up in Kitale in western Kenya. Like many people in the area, Corrier's family was very poor. They lived far from the nearest town. It took a long time to walk anywhere. So Corrier would run to get there faster. He ran three miles to the store to buy things for his mother. Every day he ran five miles to school in the morning and five miles back in the afternoon. And he also ran home for lunch and back to school again. Friends and teachers began to notice Corrier's running abilities. In Kitale, there were not many opportunities for Corrier. So his teachers encouraged him to train in the United States. This was not an easy process. Corrier had to do a lot of difficult paperwork. He also had to find money, but he did not give up. He told Sports Illustrated Magazine, I feel like God has given me this talent for a reason. Money would not have gotten me to America. Money would not have got me where I am, not riches, just God. Corrier had faith that he would find a way to train in the United States. And he finally arrived at the University of Louisville. There he earned a degree in biology. He also became a top runner. He broke many speed records. Corrier entered larger races such as the Chicago Marathon. People began to notice him. He then went on to win the Los Angeles Marathon in 2009 and 2010. When he was not training, he worked as a maintenance man to make money. In 2011, he won one of the most famous road races in the world, the Boston Marathon. Corrier worked hard to be a good runner, but this was not Corrier's main interest. He told Runners World, Running is just a stepping stone of what God has prepared for me. God has put something so amazing for me out there. This running, it is not the end of what I want to do. God has put a desire in my heart to help the poor people of Kenya. Wesley Corrier never forgot about his home country of Kenya. In 2007, he was in Kenya to visit his family. At this time, there was a violent conflict between different tribal groups. This conflict caused a lot of harm to people and property in Western Kenya. Corrier even saw a crowd kill three of his friends. Corrier decided that he needed to do more for the people of Kenya. He said, I want to share my life experience of how I moved from poverty to prosperity. I want to use the same method of education and skill, empowerment and talent development to make people use what God has given them to better themselves. In 2010, Corrier and his wife Tara began the Kenyan Kids Foundation. When Wesley Corrier was a boy, a family friend helped him pay for high school. Corrier began the Kenyan Kids Foundation to share this opportunity with other children. This organization helps children who cannot pay for school. Timothy Kibungi works with the Kenyan Kids Foundation. He is also a high school student. Kibungi talked to the website The Voice Box Media. He told how Corrier has encouraged him. I want to follow the way Wesley has done. I want to help people. Even now, I do not want anybody to pay me. It is God who gives me a good mind, the knowledge to study and learn. Corrier also knows that his hometown of Kitali needs healthcare. When he was a boy, a poisonous snake bit his younger brother. Corrier's family had to carry him over 30 kilometers to the nearest hospital. His younger brother died of the snake bite before doctors could treat him. This experience pushed Corrier to help improve healthcare in his home area. With other supporters, he built a new hospital and brought better doctors to Kitali. Then Corrier decided that there was another way to help more people. He wanted to make sure the government of Kenya was providing for all its citizens. So, in March 2013, Corrier ran for a seat as a member of parliament. Wesley Corrier became the first independent candidate ever to win a seat in the Kenyan parliament. When Corrier began his work in government, he wanted to immediately make a lot of changes. He soon discovered that what he had learned about running was also true about politics. It was not a short distance run at a fast speed. It was more like the marathons he ran. He needed to stay strong for a longer distance. Corrier says these lessons helped him in his work for the Kenyan government. Now I understand it will take years and years and years of hard work and patience and focus and determination to be able to change things. Corrier still trains as a runner. He hopes to represent Kenya in the next Olympics. Working in the parliament and training for running is a lot of work. But Corrier does not give up, he says. I always tell people, aim for the moon. If you miss it, you land at the stars. The writer of this program was Rina Dam. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again and read it on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called Wesley Corrier, running for God and Kenya. You can also leave your comments on our website. Or you can email us at radio at radioenglish.net. And find us on Facebook. Just search for Spotlight Radio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight Program. Goodbye.