On 12 April, 2016 Reason Global Insurance sponsored the FIDI Fun Run, held at the FIDI convention in Geneva, in aid of Operation Smile Honduras.

Operation Smile is an international medical charity that has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities.

If was a fresh but glorious Geneva morning when the 42 runners, walkers and amblers lined up for the 5k event. Each, by way of their entrance fee and voluntary donations, had provided valuable funds for Operation Smile. Unlike some charity events the organisers had kept costs down to a minimum by limiting the expense of unnecessary equipment such as start and finish tunnels, timing equipment or, as it turned out, a tape measure: the competitors got plenty of running for their money as it turned out to be nearer 8.4k than the billed 5k. Nobody seemed to mind much though and this did ensure that all the proceeds could go directly to the charity.

First home were AJ Mithal from Mithals International in New Delhi, Jan Pedersen from Trafimar Relocation Services in Mexico City and Jean-Charles Seegmuller from Seegmuller Paris who all crossed the line together. The first lady was Lisa Drewry from Taylor Moving International in Toronto.

The exact cause of cleft remains unknown and Operation Smile is trying to find the answers as well as treating the children affected. It is believed to be related to the poor nutrition of mothers during pregnancy which is why it is such a problem in the developing world and particularly significant in Honduras. Bernardo Villars, a member of the Board of Directors for Operation Smile in Honduras, explained to the runners after the event that the problem was life threatening, with many affected children not achieving their first birthday owing to infections and their inability to feed properly.

Malcolm Pearson from Reason Global Insurance was delighted with the turnout in Geneva and thanked all those who took part. “We really want to help these children and the funds we raise can make a real difference,” he said.

Operation Smile is FIDI’s adopted charity.

Photos: From top left; Jesse van Sas. AJ Mithal, Group photo of AJ Mithal, Jan Pedersen, Jean-Charles Seegmuller and Lisa Drewry, Malcolm Pearson and Bernardo Villar, Lisa Drewery.