She is one of hundreds of children whose lives have been changed thanks to a father keeping alive the memory of his daughter. But the support Heidi-Lou Decieco has received from a Salford charity will hopefully one day enable her to walk.
The charity, Georgia's Children of the World, has raised an astonishing £350,000 since it was set up by Steve Murray from Worsley, after his daughter, Georgia Louise Murray, died aged 19, in 2010 due to a heart condition. It stages the annual G-Festival a summer musical festival.
This Saturday the G-Festival is back after being postponed for two years due to the pandemic. It will be held at The Waterside in Monton with music throughout the day and into the evening, from 1pm until 11pm. But Heidi-Lou, who has cerebral palsy, will benefit from three friends who completed a tough challenge to raise £7,000 for the charity.
Cycling 500 miles and climbing 12,000ft, Matt Maxwell, 51, Andrew Pierce, 59, Eddie Kilfoyle, 51, together with a team of supporters from Manchester took on their ‘3PeaksON2Wheels’ challenge to ensure the charity could continue to provide life changing support for nine-year-old Heidi-Lou from Swinton.
They not only climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon – but also cycled the route between the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales, on a journey that took seven days. They raised more than £7,000 in fundraising along the way, with further donations still coming in. It will help Heidi-Lou, who has cerebral palsy, work towards taking her first steps.
The Georgia’s Children of the World charity has been running since 2011 and raised money to support children locally and overseas. Having been unable to run its major G-Festival event for the past two years due to the pandemic, its team have worked hard to continue fundraising to support its work in the community.
Steve, leader singer with the 70s Manchester punk band Fast Cars, said: “It is amazing to see Georgia’s Children fundraising adventures continue this summer. The 3PeaksON2Wheels challenge was an insane physical challenge and the team did an incredible job – battling through the July heat to reach the finish line.” The 3PeaksON2Wheels team were joined by Georgia’s friend Hannah Probyn (30), who took part in the climbing aspects of the challenge.
Heidi-Lou recently had life changing Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery, which was not available to her through the NHS, and now needs access to specialist rehabilitation. Steve said: “Heidi-Lou is an inspiration and has achieved so much since the charity first got involved when she was five-years-old.
"We’re so pleased to be able to help her with the physiotherapy she now needs to retrain her muscles following her operation. We hope it will lead to Heidi-Lou being able to walk with the aid of a frame – a once impossible dream for her and her mum.”
Heidi-Lou’s mum, Kate Decieco said: “We were originally told by doctors it was unlikely Heidi-Lou would ever be able to sit, let alone stand or walk. The support and encouragement we’ve seen from the community and Georgia’s Children charity has been amazing. A huge thank you to all those involved in the 3PeaksON2Wheels challenge.”
Heidi-Lou is one of hundreds of children the charity has helped over the last decade. Activity it has supported includes breakfast club and school uniform projects in Salford and Georgia’s schools initiatives in Cambodia.
Steve added: “We’re looking forward to getting our line-up of music events back on track after the challenges of the past two years. Providing entertainment from some of the region’s best talent has always played a big role for the charity. Our G-Festival events always prove popular, and funds raised will help kids here in Manchester and around the world.”
G-Festival at The Waterside is limited to 500 attendees and tickets can be booked in advance here.
Georgia was born with a heart condition, but lived a full and active life until complications during an open-heart operation led to her tragic loss in November 2010.
Projects and organisations the charity has supported include:
- Providing sustainable jobs to village families in Cambodia and supplying 400 free school uniforms for underprivileged children in Salford and Manchester.
- Funding breakfast clubs in Salford.
- Funding six ‘Georgia’s Houses’ - providing facilities and resources for children and families. ‘Georgia’s House 5’ is a Salford-based project, in partnership with The Life Centre on Langworthy Road.
- Building a school in a remote village in northern Cambodia for over 100 children, in partnership with Cambodia’s Build Your Future Today organisation.
- Building three wells with Choice Cambodia to provide vital access to fresh drinking water for villages previously without drinking water.
- Sending winter food parcels to children in Romania.
- Providing support for local children who have lost a parent.
