At just three years old, Dusty Langby became one of his father’s caregivers after a tragic accident.
Now 12, his brother’s health has motivated him to walk for two weeks from his remote hometown to the nation’s capital.
The year 6 student from Warren, in central western NSW, will walk more than 540km to raise money for children’s charity Little Wings, which provides medical support to sick children and their families.
Pilots and doctors volunteer their time to either fly children to cities for treatment or bring pediatricians to regional towns to run day clinics.
Dusty and his family came into contact with Little Wings when they were flown to Sydney to see specialists to assist with his younger brother’s health challenges.
Angus needed support after suffering full body ticks and struggling to go to school.
The intervention gave Angus the help he needed and he has since improved dramatically, his mother says.
And it’s not just Angus.
For over a year, a pediatrician has been flying out once a month to Warren to run a clinic, offering multiple appointments on that day. Monthly clinics have also been set up at Nyngan and Gilgandra.
The observant student sees his Warren Central School classmates struggling to stay focused and engaged, but notices the younger children who have been seeing the pediatrician are thriving.
But Dusty has also seen just how tough it is to get health support in the bush, and has taken it upon himself to do something about it.
And so the Dollar for Dusty fundraiser was born.
He plans to set off on August 30 and arrive at Parliament House in Canberra 16 days later on September 14 – covering about 40km each day.
The pre-teen is hoping his marathon walk will raise money to start new pediatric clinics and support other young kids in the bush.
He has two big goals with the campaign: raise a million dollars, and walk straight into the prime minister’s office to share the cause.
While the route has been methodically planned, the Little Wings team are yet to secure that meeting and lock in the perfect finish line.
Dusty hasn’t worked out what he’ll say to the prime minister, but luckily he can use the two-week journey to plan his entreaty.
During his trek, he will also likely be reflecting on his family and the medical struggles that led him here.
At just three, Dusty stepped up to help look after his dad after a serious accident.
Driving home from an overnight shift as a farmhand, Andrew Langby hit a pig on a dark country road, rolled the car and fractured his pelvis and spine, leaving him with lifelong challenges.
When his mum had to head to work as a nurse, Dusty took over many of the jobs on the family farm, including preparing meals for his dad and brother Angus.
“I went back to work and Dusty stayed here, he would cook dad tea because he couldn’t walk for months,” Sarah Langby told AAP.
“He could throw fish fingers in the air fryer and steam some veggies. To this day, the Langbys don’t eat much mashed potato because little Dusty couldn’t do the mashing.”
She will be joining her son on every step of his long expedition.
“He’s very independent,” Ms Langby said proudly.
“He’s got a great initiative, he’s got great insight.”
Also joining them will be Little Wings chief executive Clare Pearson, who is apprehensive about the journey but thrilled at the opportunity to raise funds and awareness.
“I’m hoping it’s mind over matter, and the body just follows, but I think it’s just something to really champion and walk with Dusty during this journey,” she said.
Ms Pearson could be working with Dusty for many years to come.
After recently heading overseas for the first time on a trip Japan with his mum and brother, he now dreams of becoming a pilot.
“I want to fly for Qantas and do overseas ones, so I’ll get to see the world, and then when I’m older, I want to fly for Little Wings,” Dusty said.
