Hassocks boy trains for first triathlon to raise money for education and healthcare in Madagascar

Benny Green, who attends Hassocks Infant School, is taking part in the Brighton Tri Club Children’s Triathlon in Falmer on Sunday, August 9, to raise money for the Madagascar Development Fund (MDF).

Benny, who will be in the eight-to-ten-year-old novice category, will need to complete a 25m swim, followed by a 600m bike ride and then a 600m run.

His father, Sam Green, explained that Hassocks Infants has raised nearly £25,000 for MDF since it formed a partnership with the non-profit in 2015.

Sam said: “As part of that partnership, the kids at school learn about life in Madagascar and Benny was very moved by stories of kids there not having proper schools, healthcare or water supplies, and asked if he could help and wanted to visit. My wife, Maisa, came up with the idea of doing a triathlon to raise money.”

Benny said: “I felt sad when I learnt about the kids in Madagascar. They don’t deserve to be poor. I’ll be happy if I can help them a bit with my triathlon.”

Benny’s JustGving page at www.justgiving.com/page/benny-green-1 has already raised £300 and people can donate online to help him hit his £500 target.

This is the first time Benny has taken on a challenge for charity and Sam said he has been running and swimming to get ready for it.

Sam said: “Benny has been doing swimming lessons since he was about two years old and has been practising lengths for this event for a couple of months. He has been doing Parkruns (at Preston Park in Brighton) occasionally since springtime and that is 2km, so has provided good practice. Plus, he’s come out for a run with me a few times in the past month to prepare further. He has been riding his bike since he was a toddler so does not really need any extra work on this, but we’ll go out on the park in the next two weeks for him to practise riding on grass.”

He added that Benny also plays football ‘pretty much every day’, including for Hassocks FC and the Apex Football Group.

Sam and Maisa said Benny has a ‘strong interest’ in the wider world.

Sam said: “He loves looking at maps and finding out about other countries and is always keen to travel. He was born in Japan as I was working there at the time and his mum, Maisa, is Brazilian, so maybe this has made him more curious about other countries.”

He said: “We are really proud of him, both for the compassion he has shown for the kids in Madagascar, and for his determination to do the triathlon to raise money.”

The Madagascar Development Fund has said that Madagascar is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with a very low level of primary school attendance. Visit www.maddevfund.com to find out more about the MDF.

Visit brightontri.org/kidstri to find out more about the triathlon.