By Maria Zougra
As part of the Rhodes International Marathon, which took place on Sunday, April 30, 2023, the action “reach where you can’t” took place, led by 10-year-old Michalis Kantis. His mother Marietta, his father Giorgos, his brother Fotis, his therapists and teachers ran with him. It was the second time this action was carried out. The first was in 2019, at the Marathon in Athens.
– Why did you Mr. Kantis and especially Michalis participate in the Rhodes Marathon? Did you want to pass a message?
“Michalis motivated us for this 2nd participation, returning one day from school, where he had seen the advertising poster of the Marathon. So, we made a team, consisting of our mom, Marietta, Michalis’ brother, Fotis, me, his therapists and teachers, and with Michalis as our central hero, we started the Marathon. On the t-shirts worn by the group it was written: “I run with Michael for children with physical disabilities and their mothers”, since behind these children, there are their mothers, who are ordained by God to serve their children day and night, since unfortunately they cannot be self-serviced. In the vast majority of them, these mothers cannot participate in working life, with all the negative consequences this entails for them, that is, in terms of their insurance and retirement, but also for their families, since they cannot contribute financially at family expenses, as they are unemployed, which we should note are enormous, more than many other social groups, if not all”.
– What did Michalis say to you as soon as he finished the Marathon?
“At the end, Michalis took the microphone from the presenter of the event and happily, despite the fatigue, he thanked the people who were there and applauded us, promising that with God’s help, we will be there next year as well, always transmitting social messages, trying to get where we can’t.”
– What is it like to raise a child with physical disabilities?
“Raising a disabled child is a mission from God. Without judging anyone, you have no right to be complacent. You adapt your whole “being” to this mission, constantly juggling between psychological transitions and trying, as much as possible, not to affect the fulfillment of your other obligations in life.”
– Why did you travel from Rhodes in 2019 to attend the vote of confidence in the government? What did Michalis think of after meeting the prime minister?
“The prime minister is Michalis’ God on Earth. I believe there is something magical between them that only the two of them know. We met on 07/03/2018, when he had come to Rhodes for the anniversary of the Integration and since then we have met several times, one of which was on 17/07/2019, when he invited us to the Parliament, the day of the vote of confidence to the government. We have also been in Rhodes and Maximou and by chance on the boat of the line to Tinos, where the prime minister was going with his wife to worship the Virgin Mary and, when he saw us on the boat, he immediately joined our company.”
