Lindsey Bengfort says she still remembers the smell of floating trash and human waste surrounding Kroo Bay, a slum for migrant workers in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

DRC/David Minton

Runners start the “5K Education 4 Everyone” benefit run on Saturday at South Lakes Park in Denton. The run, organized by The Kroo Bay Initiative, raised money to help students in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

View larger More photos Photo store

But it is the smiles on the faces of the children living in the slum that stick with the University of North Texas student nearly two years later, she said.

“They [the children] were so hopeful and upbeat in that situation,” Bengfort said. “I wanted to cry so badly, but then another kid would grab my hand as I walked along. There was a glimmer of hope they would make it out of there one day.”

Bengfort, along with other UNT students and alumni, didn’t want to throw money at the poverty problem, but offer help in a sustainable way, she said.

The group, later called The Kroo Bay Initiative, decided to concentrate on improving the educational structure for the children of the slum, Bengfort said.

“I didn’t want to just give money; I wanted to come up with a sustainable way kids can get better jobs,” she said.

Bengfort and other members of the initiative on Saturday hosted its inaugural 5-kilometer benefit run, called “5K Education 4 Everyone.”

About 30 runners participated in the event, which had been postponed earlier this year because of concerns related to swine flu.

DRC/David Minton

Former Ethiopian model Yeharerwerk Gashaw speaks about the importance of education before the “5K Education 4 Everyone” benefit run Saturday in Denton.

View larger More photos Photo store

The organization, of which Bengfort is president, recently received nonprofit status.

The benefit run raised about $500 for scholarship funds for students seeking primary and secondary education in Kroo Bay.

The funds will also be used to help pay for lunch programs, supplement teacher salaries and renovate a school.

Yeharerwerk Gashaw, a Dallas-Fort Worth area activist and former Ethiopian supermodel, commended the volunteerism of the group’s members during a speech at Saturday’s event.

Gashaw grew up as an orphan in her native Ethiopia and saw how small amounts of kindness and a proper education can impact a child in need, she said.

Education “is like a diamond in your hand,” she said. “If you have an education, you can help yourself, your country and the rest of the world.”

Some of the runners entered the 5K race to keep in shape, but all agreed the initiative behind the race was a good cause.

UNT student Matt McNabb said he tries to donate to or participate in one cause a month, calling it somewhat of a duty.

Denton resident Jeff Newman said The Kroo Bay Initiative seems like a good organization that gives students the opportunity to volunteer and give back through internships.

So far, members have gone back to Sierra Leone twice and have donated $500 in school supplies and eight water filtration units to the migrant village, Bengfort said.

Bengfort hopes to do much more and continue the initiative, with other volunteers, after she graduates in December, she said.

“I felt like I couldn’t go home and not do anything,” she said.

For more information, visit www.kbinitiative.org.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.