Latest News Releases

One man uses his phone to change lives and create smiles

10 March 2010

David Grier is a 50 year old chef and extreme adventurer, who on the 1^st of December 2009 embarked on a four month extreme sporting challenge which required him to travel over 3000 kilometres across an ocean and through some of the most remote areas of Madagascar for the Cipla Miles for Smiles Foundation. The Cipla Miles for Smiles Foundation is a non-profit organisation that raises money for Operation Smile SA, a non-profit volunteer-based surgical organisation that provides corrective surgery to children born with cleft lips and palates.

Grier started this epic journey in Mozambique and paddled some 500km on his kayak to Madagascar. There, he swopped his paddle for running shoes and set out on an estimated 2500 km run of the island from south to north. In order to assist Grier in navigating the rough terrain, Nokia sponsored two Nokia 6710 Navigator phones for his gruelling journey to provide him with not only a reliable ‘second’ but his tool to navigate, document and communicate throughout the extreme expedition.

During his journey, Grier has been streaming his adventure across a number of social media. The Nokia 6710 Navigator has enabled him to share his journey with people across the world through social media which in turn has kept him motivated. Grier has been using the phone as a map, a camera and more importantly as a way of staying connected with the world and people at home. This is the first time an event of this nature is being streamed on a number of social media platforms where Grier’s progress can be monitored by followers globally. Grier currently has over 10 000 people following his journey via YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

This is not the first challenge David Grier has undertaken in an aim to help raise funds for Operation Smile. In 2006, Grier and fellow athlete Braam Malherbe (52) became the first people in history to run the length of the Great Wall of China in one attempt, a journey covering 4,200km. In 2008 the pair ran the length of the Southern African coastline from Namibia to Mozambique a distance spanning over 3,000km. In the process, they’ve raised R3 million for Operation Smile.

Once this journey is complete, Grier will once again have made history as he will be the first person to have completed this particular distance across the Indian Ocean and through the Madagascan Island. To date, Grier has completed over 2,000km and the journey has been extremely tough. According to the most recent reports, Grier has already lost about 15 kilograms, has battled recurrent bouts of swamp fever, food poisoning, infected leech bites and now bilharzias, and he still has another 500km to go before completing the challenge this weekend.

From sweltering rugged savannahs to humid leech infested swamps and forests and uninhabited wild lands Grier has been challenged both physically and mentally over the past 3 months. In completing this challenge it will not only be a personal achievement comprising two world firsts but a fulfilling journey as the money he raises will go towards providing free treatment to children and adults suffering from cleft lips and cleft palates and thanks to his Nokia 6710 Navigator phone he is able to share this journey with the world. Visit www.milesforsmiles.co.za to view just what David has experienced and achieved, and uploaded through these remarkable phones.

About Operation Smile South Africa

Operation Smile South Africa medical volunteers repair childhood facial deformities while building public and private partnerships that advocate sustainable healthcare systems for children and families in South Africa, Southern Africa and around the world. Operation Smile South Africa is part of a global alliance of Operation Smile foundations and chapters dedicated to providing free treatment to children and adults suffering from cleft lips and cleft palates. Together, they create smiles, change lives, and heal humanity. Operation Smile mobilizes a world of generous hearts to heal children's smiles and transform lives across the globe.