A nine-year-old girl from Caversham is walking 100km throughout September in memory of her little brother who was lost during pregnancy.
Azaelea Robb, who is a pupil at Micklands Primary School, is embarking on the challenge to raise money for SANDS, a charity that supports grieving families and provides training and research to help people better cope with losing loved ones.
Described by her mum Tannika as ‘very generous’, Azaelea decided to walk 100km over the course of this month to help other families experiencing a similar loss to hers when her little brother Xylar passed away in 2017.
The charity helped the Robb family after losing “beautiful” Xylar and, alongside “ensuring everyone affected by the loss of a baby gets the support they need”, it also provides midwife and healthcare training and supports research into infant deaths to prevent other families from losing their children.
Despite only being one week into September, the motivated nine-year-old has already managed to raise almost £900 for SANDS and completed over half of her target distance – making her mum and dad “incredibly proud”.
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Tannika said: “Azaelea is a very kind and caring girl who greets everyone she meets with a smile and always offers help and support to both friends and strangers.
“She has always been a very generous child, from sharing her sweets to buying meals for the homeless, but this is the most she has ever raised and she’s very proud that her hard work is paying off.
“She knows first-hand how such a great loss can impact a family and is so happy to be able to provide some funds to help those who need it most.”
Tannika added that it was “difficult to put into words” how gratifying the success of her daughter’s idea has been, describing support from the Caversham community as “very wonderful and humbling”.
The nine-year-old is also well aware of the services Sands can provide based on the donation amount – with £20 going towards a ‘memory box’ for bereaved families, £36 constituting a call from someone reaching out for support after losing a baby and £100 helping to ensure that every hospital in the country has a dedicated volunteer from the charity to help loved ones navigate their grief.
Sands is running a UK-wide walking challenge, asking people around the country to follow in Azaelea's footsteps and walk 100k in September to help fund research and advanced care. Click here for more information and here to donate to Azaelea’s fundraiser.
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