World Vision Partnership Lead and mother of two Subhashi Aubert took on the challenge of running 70 km from Nuwara Eliya to Kandy on 13 May in order to raise funds for ‘Every Mind Matters’.
Subhashi shared with The Sunday Morning Brunch that she hoped the funds raised through her efforts would be used to create opportunities for Sri Lankan youth to improve their mental wellbeing through sports. She also highlighted that increased wellbeing and sports activity would create more well-rounded and fitter youth who would be able to avail themselves of countless opportunities as they grew older.
Every Mind Matters is raising funds for one of the most vulnerable areas in Sri Lanka – Karachchi in Kilinochchi, where World Vision has discovered a devastatingly large number of children who have had their mental health seriously impacted following years of systematic neglect and who suffer psychological wounds such as aggressive behavioural issues following the after-effects of the war.
“The youth are severely affected due to the war and their mental health has suffered greatly,” Subhashi said, adding that this fundraising initiative had come into existence through their findings and the need to develop an effective campaign to meet their fundraising objectives to support this community of youth.
“I grew up in Switzerland and the UK where challenge events are very popular. I moved here 16 months ago and I have never lived here before. I really wanted to do something different and as the Partnership Lead for World Vision, I wanted to bring in new fundraising strategies,” Subhashi said of what sparked Every Mind Matters. She added: “It was an amazing experience. I don’t think anyone has done this in Sri Lanka, so we got so much traction from the US and Europe.”
Mental health initiative
World Vision had originally planned to launch this initiative four years ago following its research in the Kilinochchi area. Its research was not limited to this area, but also extended to several areas around the island as well as several places around Sri Lanka with communities of youth in need of mental health assistance.
However, Karachchi proved to be particularly vulnerable, with the largest number of recorded cases compared to anywhere else in the country. “Because of these findings, we thought we would pilot it here and see how it develops,” Subhashi said.
The fundraising target for this initiative was Rs. 5.5 million and that goal is what kickstarted Every Mind Matters. Giving more context to the nature of struggles experienced by those in the area, Subhashi said: “Many of these youths are in dire situations. Many have lost one or both parents and have turned to drugs. There is also domestic abuse, rape, etc. These are the kinds of cases that exist.”
Subhashi also shared that the initiative was close to her heart as she strongly believed in achieving mental wellbeing through sports. “It has helped me a lot. When this project was in the pipeline, I saw that it was something close to home and understood that it could really benefit these communities, because I saw how it had benefited me.”
She shared her story of having been diagnosed with stage 1 lymphoma, which is a type of blood cancer, and how, instead of medicating herself, she had wanted to find a way make her life easier: “I read that running and doing sports decreases heart conditions and different forms of cancer, so I started to train. After my last blood transfusion, I took part in the Paris Half Marathon and since then I have developed a passion for it.”
Subhashi stated that while 70 km was the most she had run, she had felt that it was time to push herself: “I know the power of putting your body to work; I am living proof that this is possible and I want other people to have this opportunity as well.”
Sports for everyone
World Vision is looking at improving the sporting infrastructure in Karachchi. Subhashi noted that they were looking to improve the sports centres and to pay for coaches to come and coach children in cricket, volleyball, and football as the initial sports they had identified.
“Those are the three main sports we are going to focus on and assist in terms of proper coaching and help build into their routine. I think it will be a practice in sports centres and after school activities. Different age groups will have different systems implemented.”
She further noted that they were considering a fully-inclusive development of infrastructure when it came to sports in the area. They will also be providing food and transport for the children to travel to and from training, in addition to giving them training equipment, goal posts, and even sportswear necessary to engage in the sporting activities.
Subhashi shared that through this, she wanted to deliver the message that while putting your body to work was extremely important to your physical and mental health, literally anyone could do this and no one had to be excluded for whatever reason.
“I used to be a snowboarder when I was younger and I was always very much into sports, living on the edge,” she said, adding that she wished for women and girls to know that they too could engage in such activities and that there need not be any barriers.
“This run is really important for me to prove that as a 36-year-old woman and a mother, this is possible. Something that gave me a lot of strength and kept me going was the idea of seeing my children at the finish line. I got my little boy to run with me – he is four-and-a-half years old and he ran the last kilometre. My daughter is barely two years old and I wanted her and everyone else to see that if you put your mind to it, it doesn’t matter what age you are or what gender you are when it comes to reaching your goals,” she said.
While World Vision will soon implement its plans to improve the sporting infrastructure in Karachchi when the fundraising goal is met, Subhashi shared that she was planning to participate in bigger and even more daunting challenges, with her next goal being to conquer over 250 km through the Sahara in Morocco and then potentially the arctic circle in Greenland in minus 12 degree weather.