Thousands of people of all ages took part in the Melbourne Marathon on Sunday. The winner of this year’s full marathon was Jack Rayner.
Among the participants were many Greeks. Notably, Greek Australian long-distance runner Haftu Strintzos who came first in the Half Marathon, which he entered for the second time — making his mother, Maria Strintzos, proud. She was featured a few years ago in Neos Kosmos.
Last year, Haftu Strintzos had finished in second place. Both he and his mother, Maria Strintzos, share an extraordinary story.
Here’s what Maria Kampyli had previously written in Neos Kosmos about Maria Strintzos:
“In the dictionary of humanity, under the entry ‘humanitarian’, the name Maria Strintzos should appear. Thirty years spent supporting the underprivileged in Indonesia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Eritrea — as well as disadvantaged women in Australia — have made her synonymous with compassion and solidarity in the minds of all who know her.
She grew up in South Melbourne and, after completing her Education studies at the University of Melbourne, worked in a housing service for women with mental health issues.
In 1988, she became the first Greek Australian to join the Australian Volunteers Abroad program, spending two years in Indonesia under Suharto, developing support programs for vulnerable women in the region.
She later joined Community Aid Abroad (now known as Oxfam Australia) as manager of the Horn of Africa Project, overseeing aid programs in Ethiopia, Sudan and Eritrea.
Seven years later, she joined the Relief Society of Tigray (REST), serving as head of fundraising and public relations, working for the welfare and food security of four million of the world’s poorest and hungriest people.
In 2005, she also founded the Hawzien Orphan Project, which supported hundreds of children — including her adopted son, Haftu, whom she brought back with her to Australia in 2011, returning home after 18 years in Addis Ababa.”
