By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 14 Apr: The Terry Fox Run or ‘The Marathon of Hope’ was flagged off today in The Doon School by a Kargil war hero, Brig JS Jaggi, Dy GOC, Sub-Area, Uttarakhand. Matthew Raggett, the Headmaster of the Doon School, Gurmeet Singh, Chairman of the Indo Canadian Cancer Research Foundation and also an old boy, spoke to the participants about the dreaded disease and the need to find a cure for it.
Aryan Bhattacharya, a class 12 student of the school, spoke about the determination of Terry Fox, who was detected with cancer at the age of 18 but ran with an artificial leg for a distance of 5373 kms to collect funds for cancer research. He ran an average of about 40 kms per day before he succumbed to the disease on the road.
Also present on the occasion were Shelly Thostenson and Vanessa Fairey of the Canadian High Commission, along with senior faculty members of the Doon School – Kamal Ahuja, the deputy headmaster, Stuti Kuthiala, deputy head of pastoral care, Debashsish Chakravarty, deputy head of academics, and Ambikesh Shukla, director of social service & activities.
There were over 2000 students and adults from 30 schools and institutions. Some of the schools that participated were Welham Boys, Welham Girls School, Cambrian Hall, Doon Girls, Ann Mary, SGRR, Jaswant Modern, Oasis, Brightland, Unison, Kendriya Vidyalayas, RIMC, Territorial Army, Skaters Club, Railway Karate Club, etc.
Gurmeet Singh expressed his delight at the turnout. He expects that in coming years the numbers will grow even further as this is a cause which really needs the attention of society – especially the youngsters.
