Running for India

You don’t often come across nine-yearold kids running city marathons.

And raising nearly $1500 in charity, all on their own.

But that is exactly what naiesha Wise did on 9 Aug this year, as she ran the SunHerald City2Surf.

Her charity of choice was iIndia Project’s Jhag Children’s Village. In the few weeks before the run, naiesha raised $1450 for street kids in Rajasthan.

naiesha has always loved running: in fact, she’s been running since she was 18 months old! that’s why when her mother Mishell suggested they enter the annual City2Surf, she was thrilled. She finished the race in an astounding 88 minutes (the men’s winner clocked 41.02, and the women’s winner 47.47 minutes).

14 kilometres in 88 minutes would be a struggle for most adults but naiesha is only 9 years old!

“Heartbreak Hill was the hardest part but I loved the whole race. Mummy said I could stop and rest whenever I wanted but I didn’t want to stop.”

When asked why she picked the Jhag children to help, she replied with a shy smile “Well, they don’t have a lot of things like I do...” the Jhag Children’s Village aims to build a safe haven for orphans and destitute children 45kms from Jaipur city. naiesha also loves playing the violin, horse riding and doing math.

In many ways naiesha is like every other 9-year-old who loves playing with her two younger siblings (though she finds her brother annoying sometimes). She loves sport and recently won 6 out of 8 events at the athletics carnival in her school. She has gone on to represent her school at the regional level for various events. She was picked as one of the top ten runners in her entire school, which is a first for this Year 3 student.

Parents Mishell and Robin are humble about naiesha’s achievements.

“We never had any expectations”, Mishell says. “She wanted to try the race, so we took her… but the dedication was all her own.”

Congrats naiesha, you’re a hero! (the race this year raised nearly $2 million towards charity, and created a record with 75,000 participants).

Raka Mitra

If you want to help the Jhag Children’s Village, please contact the I-India organisation via their website http:// www.i-indiaproject.org.au