An Albion resident is putting his best foot forward and riding across India in a rickshaw to raise money for research into muscular dystrophy.
Leon Struk’s brother Ryan, 33, has MD and has been confined to a wheelchair since the age of 8.
MD is a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system. It affects about one in 1000 people.
Mr Struk, 36, is riding 4000 kilometres across India to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy Australia.
The aircraft engineer hopes to collect $15,000, helped by his team partner, business executive Ian Casey. The duo began their 14-day trek on Easter Saturday.
“Ryan is my motivation for dedicating myself to raising as much funding as I can to help MDA provide care and facilitate research,” Mr Struk said.
“Ryan has always been an inspiration to our family and has never let his disability get in the way of achieving exceptional results academically.”
Ryan is studying for a bachelor of arts degree and recently received an award for academic excellence. “I guess growing up together we were different to other brothers and sisters because Ryan wasn’t able-bodied. But we still shared so much together and had a lot of the same interests in movies and music.”
It isn’t the first time the keen adventurer has taken part in an event to raise money for the charity.
He rode a mountain bike from North to South Vietnam and trekked more than 4169 kilometres across Nepal for the cause.
“We need to raise the profile of this disorder so it gains attention from the government, which has the power to dedicate funding to care and research.”
Mr Struk hopes some of the money raised will go towards camps for children with MD.
“The charity holds camps for children with MD, but it’s very expensive. One respite camp for 40 children costs upwards of $30,000,” he said.
“These camps are so important not only for people with MD like my brother but also to give the families a chance to recharge their batteries while their loved one is cared for at the camp.”
Donations: challengemd.org/RickshawRun/
