On Saturday, March 19th, children from the Melbourne Dawoodi Bohra community  interacted with Captain Australia Simon Harvey, a 51 year old cancer survivor, and congratulated him on his BIG Walk from Brisbane to Melbourne. They also took the opportunity to donate to the Kids’ Cancer Project, a cause which Simon seeks to support through this initiative.

When he was 15 years old, Simon walked from Brisbane to Sydney to escape a bad domestic situation. He discovered himself and found hope in that first BIG WALK.

Four years ago, he was diagnosed with head & neck cancer. He had a 40-60% chance that chemoradiation would beat the disease. Doctors had given him six months, however, Simon persevered and survived the ordeal. Part of his motivation was his three year old son. Reflecting on that time, Simon comments that, ‘No child should have to endure that.’

This inspired Captain Australia’s BIG WALK, in support of The Kids’ Cancer Project. Simon started from Brisbane and reached Melbourne in 10 weeks.

‘I was quite inspired by Captain Australia’s determination to overcome challenges. It made me feel that you can do anything if you have a positive mind set. After donating I feel like I have contributed to a worthy cause,’ says Shabbir, who met with Simon in the Garden city.

On a similar note, Safiyah, a young student, told us that it was nice meeting someone with such dedication to a great cause. ‘He is sure to inspire many with his great work,’ she added.

The Kids’ Cancer Project is an independent national charity supporting childhood cancer research since 1993, and thanks to strong community support, the charity has contributed millions of dollars to scientific projects that help treat children with different types of cancer. The fundraising goes towards the mission to support bold science that has the greatest chance of clinical success to improve childhood cancer treatments.