David Grier and Andrew Stuart are running down and around Portugal in the name of raising funds for Operation Smile to help children in Mozambique.
Global (04 July 2023) – David Grier is back on the run, this time taking on Portugal and the coastline of Madeira with his adventure buddy Andrew Stuart. Along with his buddy, Grier takes on this gruelling challenge in an effort to create awareness and raise funds for Operation Smile, which aims to do operations in Mozambique.
David was born on the 16th of January 1960 into a Cape wine-farming family in South Africa, it was here his love of the outdoors, food, wine and adventure began. He set out to take all his passions to the extreme and explore the limits of the human mind and body.
To date: David has run The Great Wall of China – twice! The first time completing 4200km in 93 days and the second time, going back the other way, run the entire coastline of South Africa completing 3300km in 80 days, paddled from Africa to Madagascar completing 500km in 12 days, run the Island of Madagascar South to North completing 2700km in 67 days, run the entire length of India completing 4008 km in 93 days and now Portugal.
“Over the past 15 years, I’ve adventured over 30 000 km across the world and I’m at it again with my adventuring partner, Andrew Stuart. We will be attempting to run the entire coastline of Portugal and then travelling to Madeira to continue the run of the island’s coastline. An estimated total distance of 1 500 km all in aid of raising funding for over 400 children in need of corrective surgery in Mozambique. The event will be taking place from 26 June 2023 to 4 August 2023. Please help to make a difference with your donation. Every little bit helps.”
David has been sharing his and Andrew’s adventures on Facebook and they have really been roughing it. Thankfully, they have managed to find safe abandoned spaces to sleep at night, meeting restaurant and cafe owners willing to fill their bellies for less and encountering kindness from strangers along the way. These things and more have made the rough nights worth it and the chances of getting their message out even further.
“The road is also littered with folk giving us water, fruit and kind words.
Last night was just something else. We had somehow ended 80km inland in an area where there was nothing to eat,no shops and getting late. Suddenly around the corner we spotted an umbrella and there were 4 people having a beer outside a shop. We approached but were told they had no food and were closing up.
We started chatting and things unfolded.
They were all Eastern European expats living in Portugal for 18 years. A Russian guy, a Polish lady and Albanian woman and a lady from Ukraine. We listened to their stories and shared ours. They were so taken back with what we were doing that they then drove home, made Andy and l each a sandwich and brought us slices of cold watermelon.
What incredible people they were and if you think what they are going through at home. All the lady said is We all are friend’s
“The trouble is when some politician gets in the middle that’s when issues start” – David Grier
The cause is an important one. They are raising funds to help children born with cleft palates in rural Mozambique. According to Operation Smile, it is estimated that a child is born somewhere in the world with a cleft every three minutes, making it the third most common birth defect.
Ideally, corrective surgery should be carried out within the first 18 months of life. In many parts of South Africa and Africa, where the public health system is overburdened and under-resourced, safe surgery is not always freely available or accessible, and a child may have to wait years for the chance to live a normal life. Without surgery, children with clefts face serious and debilitating long-term health problems and will likely suffer from emotional abuse and isolation.
Funds raised through endeavours like David and Andrew’s, go a long way in changing lives! You can support David and Andrew via GivenGain here.
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