Rana’s journey that will begin on Saturday will cover the coastal corridor in eight days and culminate at Chennai’s Marina Beach as part of an awareness campaign for breast cancer for the Chennai Pinkathon to be held on June 5.
He plans to skate 100 km each day and speak at colleges and villages along the way about his journey and the cause behind it.
Rana had previously skated from Mumbai to Goa for the Goa edition of Pinkathon.
Founded by actor and model Milind Soman, Pinkathon is an event that aims to inspire women to get fit and change their outlook towards health, apart from spreading awareness about important health issues.
Rana’s incredible feat on skates is also an effort to raise funds for a cancer patient admitted at Mahatma Gandhi Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, who has been diagnosed with stage two of cancer.
Addressing a media conference on Friday, Rana, the young entrepreneur and business associate of Titan Industries Ltd., said: “There are many patients who cannot afford cancer treatment. We have identified one such patient who is differently-abled and below the poverty line. I urge people to at least donate Re 1 for each kilometre I skate towards her treatment through the crowd funding website Ketto (www.ketto.org/800) to contribute to the cause.” For offline contributions, contact Jyothi at 9000831655.
Harsh summer conditions
“It is not easy to skate on such harsh summer conditions and I have been warned enough. But I hope through my journey I am able to reach out to more people and spread awareness on critical health issues. Pinkathon ambassadors, Sirisha and Jyothi will be helping me in keeping this campaign going,” added Rana.
Community engagement activities
On his recent journey on skates from Mumbai to Goa, Rana had undertaken community engagement activities by motivating youth and giving talks at schools and colleges along the way. He had penned down his experiences on his Facebook posts that had become quite popular.
The Vizag edition of Pinkathon – Vizag Going Pink – will be held on November 20 this year.
Rana Uppalapati is planning to cover 800 km in eight days to create awareness on health issues
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Staff Reporter / Visakhapatnam – May 28th, 2016