Running to support prenatal care in Papua New Guinea

We are on a mission to raise money for locally based NGO's in PNG that support prenatal care for women with high risk pregnancies. PNG has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. Having a high risk pregnancy does not discriminate between women that live in rural areas and women in the cities who have access to health care. Being informed on factors that can cause high risk pregnancies and having regular check ups with your doctor can be a matter of life and death for both the mother and child.

Our stories became one when in 2018 through a Facebook post we realised we both had lost our sons Gideon and Arav whilst pregnant. Child loss is something not really talked about in our cultures. Many woman are forced to give birth to a still born child and carry on with life as if the child never existed. We supported each other through our private moments of grieving and spoke about our boys in hushed tones. But we realise our boys can live through us. Our boys, we believe, are bonded for life through our friendship.

Through this season of grief and loss we both turned to running. We share our love for running by participation in the 2024 Sydney City2Surf and through this fundraiser campaign, we are ready to share our stories of child loss and healing. The funds raised will be donated to Waniati Foundation in Goroka.

Alicia & Arav

Alicia is Arav's mom who was born on 21 January, 2014, at 24 weeks of pregnancy. Arav's ashes rests in an a small silver urn with a blue teddy engraved in it. In celebration of his 10th spirit birthday, Alicia travelled with him 514km to an elevation of 5,502ft, to visit the ancient agricultural site, in Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, on which modern day agriculture exists keeping what's buried beneath safe and protected. Their journey, despite being in two different worlds, was together. Alicia's belief was reaffirmed when a butterfly fluttered into the bus on the way to Kuk Swamp. Alicia's run in the Sydney City2Surf is in memory of her son, Arav.

Serena & Gideon

Gideon would be eight (8) years old this year. He currently rests in the ancestral lands of his fathers people in Hamusek, Dagua, East Sepik Province. His life was cut short due to his mother, Serena developing severe pre-eclampsia (pregnancy induced hyper-tension) when she was 28 weeks pregnant. Being the little warrior he was he fought till he was 37 weeks old. His heart stopped so his mum could live. As with Arav and Alicia, Serena and Gideon too are one; their journeys forever intertwined. Serena’s love for running was born through this process of healing - when you're forced to push yourself to the limit you learn what you are capable of.