Running for freedom: Mission to save trafficked kids reaches Junee

FOUR young mates running the length of Australia to help save children from human trafficking passed through Junee on Tuesday morning, more than 4,000 kilometres into an extraordinary endurance challenge that has pushed their bodies to the limit.

Nathan Maufe, 27, Chelsea Dyer, 32, Griffin Hughes, 27, and Flinders Cobley, 22, are four ordinary young people taking on a mammoth endurance challenge for a cause far greater than themselves.

From left; Nathan Maufe, Flinders Cobley, Chelsea Dyer and Griffin Hughes | Image: Motion Four Justice

The group, known as Motion Four Justice, is attempting to run roughly 5,000 kilometres from Cape York in far north Queensland to Wilsons Promontory in southern Victoria in under 90 days, covering an average of 60 to 65 kilometres every day.

Their mission is to raise $1 million for Australian-founded charity Destiny Rescue, enough to help rescue an estimated 476 children from human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

After setting off from the northernmost tip of Australia on August 1, the runners have spent more than 10 weeks battling exhaustion, injuries and unforgiving conditions on their journey down the east coast, arriving in the Riverina this week as they close in on the finish line.

Image: Motion Four Justice

They passed through Cootamundra on Monday before setting off along the Olympic Highway in the early hours of Tuesday, bound for Junee.

The group arrived in town about 10am before continuing along Byrnes Road towards Wagga half an hour later, where they were expected to arrive in the afternoon.

© The Junee Bulletin

© The Junee Bulletin

Tuesday marked Day 74 of their 80-plus-day challenge, with the group having covered a staggering 4,290 kilometres since setting off from Cape York.

Along the way, they’ve endured Queensland’s heat and humidity, torrential rain, bitter winds, blistered feet and thousands of kilometres of highways, back roads and bush tracks.

Image: Motion Four Justice

Their days begin at 4am, with breakfast, coffee, stretching and preparation before hitting the road about 5.30am.

They typically run their first 15 kilometres before stopping for a short break, repeating the distance before completing the remainder of the day in smaller stages.

By 4.30pm, they’ve usually covered another 60 kilometres, only to wake up and do it all again the following morning.

They’re burning through roughly one pair of running shoes each week.

Image: Motion Four Justice

But behind the extraordinary physical feat is a confronting story that sparked the entire mission.

During an interview with A Current Affair last month, Hughes revealed he had been travelling in Colombia when a stranger approached him and allegedly offered to sell him a four-year-old girl.

“I was in Colombia and I was in this town I didn’t know at the time but it was renowned for human trafficking and I had a guy approach me and try sell me a four year old girl,” he said.

“And from there, I just knew that that’s something that needs to change in the world.”

The experience inspired Hughes to devise an ambitious plan to raise $1 million for Destiny Rescue, a charity dedicated to rescuing children from trafficking and sexual exploitation.

His three mates didn’t need convincing.

Together, they formed Motion Four Justice and committed to one of the most demanding endurance challenges imaginable.

Image: Motion Four Justice

Founded in Australia in 2001, Destiny Rescue has spent 25 years helping children escape exploitation and rebuild their lives.

The organisation says it has helped more than 28,000 individuals find freedom since its establishment.

According to the group’s fundraising campaign, every $2,100 raised can help fund the rescue and rehabilitation of one child.

And their efforts are already making a difference.

After reaching their first $100,000 milestone on September 22, the group doubled that figure in less than three weeks, surpassing $200,000 on Sunday, October 11.

By Tuesday, donations had climbed beyond $206,000, equivalent to the campaign’s estimated cost of helping rescue 98 children.

Their journey has also attracted a growing following, with almost 20,000 people tracking their progress on Instagram and another 11,000 on Facebook.

Image: Motion Four Justice

Along the way, they’ve been met with overwhelming support from communities across the country, raising awareness of child trafficking with every town they pass through.

But despite the attention surrounding their remarkable achievement, the runners insist the mission has never been about them.

“We’re not doing this because it’s easy, or because we’re anything special. We’re doing it because freedom is worth the distance,” the group said.

“Every donation helps Destiny Rescue pull the next child out of exploitation and into freedom. That’s the whole reason we keep going.

“Every kilometre that we run, is one step closer to a child coming home.”

Image: Motion Four Justice

For Cobley, the physical suffering is insignificant compared with the experiences of the children they’re fighting to protect.

“What we endure here is nothing compared to what these children go through,” he said.

Maufe, who travelled from the United Kingdom specifically to take part in the challenge, shares that perspective.

“I am a pawn in a bigger plan. We are not here for ourselves,” he said.

And Hughes remains unwavering in his determination.

“There is no greater evil in this world than that against a child, and evil will not prevail.”

Image: Motion Four Justice

The group is expected to reach Melbourne on Tuesday, October 20, before completing its journey at Wilsons Promontory on Sunday, October 25.

If successful, they hope to establish a world record for the unprecedented endurance feat.

But for these four mates, the greatest achievement won’t be measured in kilometres, records or running times.

It will be measured in the number of children given a chance at freedom.

Donations to Motion Four Justice’s campaign are tax-deductible, with funds supporting Destiny Rescue’s work to free children from trafficking and exploitation.

Donate here.