Running miles to bring smiles to kids

CHENNAI: One in 750 children are born with a cleft lip or palate globally. In an effort to create awareness and raise funds towards corrective surgery for such children, fifty-two-year old extreme athlete David Grier recently completed a marathon run from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.David, a trustee and ambassador of the ‘Miles for Smiles India Challenge’, took up the extreme challenge of covering over 4,000 km, which he completed within 93 days.  This is nothing new for the man who had run 4,200 kilometres along the Great Wall of China in 2006, 3,300 km along the South African coastline in 2008 and a 2,700 kilometres in Madagascar.‘Operation Smile’, the organisation’s initiative, helps children with cleft lip, palate and other facial deformities by performing surgeries free of cost. Speaking during a press meet here on Thursday, David said, “The aim is to give children their God-given right to smile. The biggest hospital for cleft surgery is at Guwahati in India, where more than 1000 surgeries are done each month.”Starting at Srinagar, David ran through Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, ending his arduous journey at Kanyakumari.“Now that the run is over, raising funds and awareness is what remains to be done. All funds raised in India will go towards helping Indian children,” said David.