I’m Narendra Kulkarni from San Francisco CA. My best friend Rajat and I have been dreaming of climbing Mount Rainier since 2012 while we were in NYC. Back then it seems impossible. Luckily both of us now have moved to the right coast … I mean the west coast of course! We were both lucky enough to go through the lottery and were selected for the climb this year. We couldn’t be more excited. We have already been training regularly at the gym and going out every weekend for long hikes with backpacks for additional weights. My goal is to get into a really good shape by summer and also raise awareness of what Asha does. This truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity to climb my favorite mountain in the world with my favorite person!
About Asha
Asha is a secular, non-profit, and an all-volunteer driven organization working towards socio-economic change in India. Their main focus is to empower the marginalized communities through education primarily for women and children. India is a country with more than one billion people, and just one-third of them can read. Rapidly growing size of population, shortages of teachers, books, and basic facilities, and insufficient public funds to cover education costs are some of the nation’s toughest challenges. India is fourth among the top 10 nations with the highest numbers of out-of children in primary level. Furthermore, the rate of school drop-outs amongst students is very high. One of the main reasons behind this is poverty. When earning a livelihood and taking care of the members of the family becomes a primary matter of concern in one’s life, education stands a little or, very often, no chance of pursuance. For the underprivileged people in India, education is perceived as a high-priced luxury, and this negative outlook continues on with every new generation. This is where children in India are facing the basic challenges.
The GRAVIS project is one such project supported by Asha and the climbing program
Here’s an independent evaluation of the Asha supported work done by GRAVIS since 2008: http://www.ashanet.org/projects-new/documents/925/GRAVIS-EvaluationReport-2015.pdf
Here’s a small excerpt about harsh mining conditions in the Rajasthan area also showing a little bit of the work done by GRAVIS in supporting healthcare for them: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/dusty-mining-conditions-trap-indian-workers-with-deadly-lung-disease/
You can also watch a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPrPDVLa49Q
My Campaign
Please donate to my campaign for Climb for Asha.
My goal is to raise $1250 on top of my personal contributions to Asha during my training and climb to Mt Rainier.100% of the donations to Asha go directly to funding projects and are completely tax exempt
Donation Methods
You can donate using the ‘Donate’ button on the webpage.
or donate via a check made to ‘Asha for Education’. Please include ‘Team Asha Climb 2018 –Narendra Kulkarni’ on the check
I am very grateful for your support, whether it is through well wishes, financial donations, or by spreading the word.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.