Wishes make life better for kids with life-threatening medical conditions. This simple but powerful belief inspired the founding of Make-A-Wish and drives everything the organisation does.

Thanks to the generosity of thousands of donors and volunteers, Make-A-Wish has granted over 334,000 wishes worldwide to some very deserving children, and is currently the biggest wish-granting organisation in the world.

Monce C. Abraham, Founder and Chairman, THEV Consulting, who is a known enabler in the innovation, Entrepreneurship, and management space in India, has most recently initiated the campaign ‘100 KMs – 100 Wish Kids – 100 Wishes’ where he will be attempting his first 100 ultra marathon and would be simultaneously raising funds to make wishes come true for a 100 Wish kids, via Make-A-Wish India.

Monce has the unique distinction of wrapping up his first half marathon, first full marathon, and first 50km ultra marathon, all within the first year of having attempted long distance running. During his 50km ultra marathon in Bengaluru, India last year, he acquired a muscle pull 25kms in, but decided not to quit halfway and instead persevered for the remaining 25kms, hopping his way to the finish line. He still managed to be in the top 50% of individuals who finished the 50km race. In his second year, he hopes to survive the 100km challenge, whilst raising funds for young children battling life-threatening conditions.

Monce, who works with varied organisations, chooses one non-profit per year (working on issues of children or education) where he works with the leadership pro-bono, assisting them with his skills and network throughout the year. This year, Monce chose Make-A-Wish India for a few interesting reasons.

As Monce was researching genuine non-profits he would like to partner with for the year, he had been aware of Make-A-Wish for the past few years. However, no one in his network was connected to the top leadership in India, and some organisations working with non-profits had never even managed to receive a reply back.

Though Make-A-Wish India had started granting wishes in 1996 and had been actively assisting children in India over the past 20 years, granting over 48,500 wishes, working with a network of 150 partner hospitals and NGOs, 700 doctors and 200+ volunteers across 9 offices, they had shunned much of the publicity and chose to work under the radar. Monce eventually reached out to the core teams at Make-A-Wish America and Make-A-Wish International, requesting to be put in touch with the leadership in India.

Post connecting with the Indian leadership, when Monce was invited to be part of International Wish Day 2017 at Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, India, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that the whole event had been organised with a good number of non-paid volunteers who had willingly, efficiently, and effectively planned and executed the entire day, making wishes come true for the children.

Another instance was when Monce and Deepak Bhatia, CEO, Make-A-Wish India, had just wrapped up a partnership meeting with Prashant Tandon, Co-Founder, 1 mg and were unable to find a cab available for their next scheduled meeting from the venue. Without any second thoughts or apprehension, Deepak simply waved to a shared auto passing by (popularly known as tumtum rickshaws in Delhi) and they both hitched a ride to the nearest Metro to make it to their next meeting in time.

Such minute instances reiterate how Make-A-Wish approaches frugality and practicality to approach day-to-day operations, and their focus towards making more and more wishes come true for ill children.

Monce intends to continue working with such leaders and organisations every year, which are committed to making the world a better place for children, and hopes that more people will step up in their own unique ways to help create change.

You can follow Monce’s efforts on Twitter and Instagram and contribute to his campaign to make 100 wishes come true for a 100 wish kids here.