DUBAI // A fitness instructor braved swarms of jellyfish as part of a gruelling quadrathlon to raise funds to help build a bigger care centre for autistic children.
Frank Spencer’s one-man endeavour took just over four hours on Friday and helped to raise Dh60,000 for the Dubai Autism Centre (DAC).
The British fitness expert began the endurance challenge with a 500-metre swim across the Mamzar lagoon, cycled 30 kilometres through Deira and along Jumeirah Beach Road after which he jumped on to a paddle board for a 10km stretch along Jumeirah Public Beach and ended with a 12km run.
“I would like to inspire others to raise money for charity because it is up to us as residents to take care of those who need help in this city,” said Mr Spencer, 40, who has worked as a training instructor in the UAE for nine years.
“I’ve done this for the kids and to raise awareness that there are hundreds of special-needs children here. Life is about charity and giving. I also feel for those families because it is tough on them and it would be nice to get a bigger school to put more children in.”
A non-profit organisation, the DAC provides speech therapy, art and music classes for 46 students and aims to add 270 children from its waiting list once a new building is completed next year.
The centre is involved in early assessment and diagnosis of autism and its programme is geared to integrate the children with society.
The group hopes that Mr Spencer’s efforts will encourage more individuals and companies to support the centre.
“Frank’s has been a one-man show from start to finish because he got the sponsors and then dealt with the challenges of getting clearances,” said Farhan Shahid, DAC project manager.
“The funds Frank raised will certainly help the new centre. His effort will help people to understand that children with autism are part of our community.”
The final stretch of the quadrathlon was taxing, said Mr Spencer, as was his run-in with the jellyfish.
“You try and run fast but it’s not going to happen because it just gets harder as it goes along,” he said.
“There were a lot of jellyfish out there and it freaked me out. I chose a faster boat today because it was flat. But obviously with a faster boat, stability is a factor. I only fell in once but that’s not cool when you have jelly fish around you. Still, it was worth it.”
One out of every 88 children in the world is affected by autism, a group of neurobiological disorders that appear within the first three years of a child’s life. Autism can affect social and communication skills and lasts a lifetime.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
