Endurance athletes’ epic run for Operation Smile

ENDURANCE athletes David Grier and Andrew Stuart are two of the latest South Africans to offer help to Operation Smile.

Grier and Stuart plan on running 1100 km over a period of 20 days to raise R110 000. The funds from the Power of 10 Challenge will go to Operation Smile’s initiative to help children and people living with cleft palates receive surgery.

Grier, a managing trustee of Cipla Foundation which is planning the adventure, said the easiest part of the challenge will be running the 100km Thailand Marathon, known as “The Beast”.

“The tough part will be the leadup to the event where we will start running the 1 000km from Bangkok to reach the start of the ultramarathon in Thailand on November 19.”

He said the event also marked the 10-year anniversary of the Cipla Miles for Smiles initiative which had crossed 10 countries and was growing fast as other corporates joined.

“They aim to join us in assisting 10 children with cleft lips or palates, to have corrective procedures each month for the next 10 months. This has been followed by a pledge from Fred Wille of Miltons Matsemela Attorneys who will assist with funding for 10 operations,” Grier said.

One in every 700 children in Africa is born with a cleft lip or palate and one in 10 babies do not live longer than 12 months. “Malnutrition, medical and psychological problems also compound the problem. Life can be a difficult and complicated place for children, and not being able to smile shouldn’t limit their experience of the world.”

Grier has raised around R8.7million towards surgeries for over 2 000 children over the last decade. “Our ideal goal with The Power of 10 Challenge is to get this total up to R10 million by the end of 2017.” CiplaSA chief executive Paul Miller said the company encouraged South Africans to follow Grier’s journey and donate.