BANGALORE: Eleven members of an Australian family hailing from Melbourne are walking 800 km to raise funds for the underprivileged children in India. The Petrucco family, have already covered half the distance and have raised more than 55,000 Australian dollars for Childfund India. The walk is a joint effort by ChildFund India, ChildFund Australia and Beyond Synergy (an initiative undertaken by the family).Nick Petrucco, his wife Bec, their daughters India (aged 13 years), Maggie (aged 9 years) and son Gus (aged only 3 years) are accompanied by Nick’s stepfather Nick, mother Jen, niece Alex and nephew Max.Nick, a consultant by profession says that he and his family have always had a soft corner for the underprivileged children. “We have worked with children from many countries. But for some unfathomable reason, India is closest to our heart,” says Nick.Nick and his wife Rebecca (Bec) came to India for the first time in 1996 and it was after that visit that they vowed that they would name their first-born, ‘India’. “Till now we have visited mostly South India, and hope to help children from other states as well,” says Bec. She further explained that there were two reasons that the family decided to embark on an unusual venture like theirs the passion to help children across the globe and to inculcate the same values in their own children.Each member is raising funds for a different cause. While the youngest member, Gus, is raising funds to procure goats for underprivileged families, his older sister India, is collecting money to give cycles to young school girls. “I have so far given more than 48 bicycles to young girls who have to cover a large distance between their home and school,” says the 13-year-old. “This is the first time I have done something like this with my family. I love walking through all the small villages and interacting with the people there,” she gushes.Though thirteen, India’s passion to help those in need is more than just obvious. Malnutrition, girl child education, water purifiers and mosquito nets are some of the other areas of concern that the family members are looking into.“We would like to generate funds that would be adequate to take care of health, primary education of these children, and also see them through vocational courses,” says Nick.The family walks an average of five to six hours a day and is followed by a support van that is equipped with all the necessary amenities.
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