Australian ultra-marathon runner Samantha Gash interacted with many underprivileged children from Guwahati on Thursday. The Aussie lawyer-turned-runner is running across the country to raise funds for under privileged children in several parts of the country.
Run India, an initiative taken up by Samantha Gash from Australia, is aiming to raise fund through her run in India to support education of underprivileged children in India.
“This is the biggest challenge I’ve ever undertaken. It will take me around 76 days and I’ll take over five million steps but, when you consider the challenges many children face on a daily basis, this is not comparable. Through Run India, we are aiming to raise funds to support six World Vision Area Development Projects that focus on education,” said Samantha.
On Friday, Samantha will run to Shillong. She started her run on 22 August from Rajasthan and will finish it in Shillong on November 6 completing 3,800 kilometres across India. She covered Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim and West Bengal so far.
Interacting with the school students at Arikathi Yuva Shakti Club in Uzan Bazar in Guwahati, she said that watching the children, she draws inspiration.
“Children suffering under poverty line are similar across the country. The reasons may be different but the suffering is same in India or South Africa. Any pain that I ever experienced is temporary. But I made children here in schools, which might not be the highest standard of education but they work in together in community and try to make the best situation of their life. I find this incredibly inspiring. This is what I draw when I am running,” Samatha said.
The projects are in Jaipur, Barmer, Kanpur, North-West Delhi, Hardoi and Pauri. “This project will showcase the human stories and practical realities that are faced in these communities and demonstrate World Vision’s approach to sustainable development, which is about providing a hand up, rather than a hand out,” added Samantha.
