As a part of my resolution for this summer, I plan to summit Mount Baker, one of the most notorious peaks of the pacific northwest and one of the most snowiest places on Earth.
It is an active and highly glaciated peak in the Cascades. The climb itself is going to take 2 days where we will summit to the top at 10,781 ft.
I have been training almost every day and summiting different peaks in the of extreme difficulty since last 3 months for this climb.
Why I am doing this?
I have always felt privileged for the education that I was given. I was blessed with parents who can afford education for me, not just in India, but here in US as well. However, not everyone is so lucky. Thousands of kids in India are not able to afford education. Giving someone a real chance is one of the things that we, the privileged, can do to give back to our community.
“Asha For Education” is a doing the same. By doing my climbs, I am trying to bring awareness and support the GRAVIS project in Asha. The aim of this project is to improve the lives of villagers in the Thar Desert of Western India.
The focus is to provide and improve the schools for child and adult education. It provides $10 funds for a child’s basic education for each month.
Another focus is to organize health camps and harvesting water. Here’s a short video about what the GRAVIS and Asha Climb participants are doing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPrPDVLa49Q
You can also learn more about Gravis from this site.
http://www.gravis.org.in/
Other efforts that Asha supports
Asha also supports Adruta Children
Adruta Children home is supported in part by Asha Seattle – these are abandoned girls, abandoned because of their gender.
Prof. Mohanty started Adruta home to not just care for the girls but also to empower them by giving them opportunity to excel in the arts.
https://www.facebook.com/adrutachildren/
Why climbing?
Conquering mighty peaks of tall moutains like Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens which are neighbours to the PNW, takes a enormous amount of training day-in and day-out.
I wanted to express my commitment to myself and the cause for Education to ensure that I am fully devoted to this effort. I started from training from 2000 ft. and so far within months of training,
I have reached upto the summits of St. Helens (8363 ft) and Camp Muir, base camp at Mt. Rainier (10,000 ft.) The journey from 2000 to 10000 took a lot of endurance, hard-work, training and an extra-ordinary support from
Asha volunteers like Jasmine and Dinesh. The feeling of summitting a peak after you have climbed vigorously for more than 8 hours, you are drained, you are out of energy, strength and you have sweated out a gallon of water from your body is extremely exhilarating and satisfying.
And when you realize that all that effort is to help someone to have a better chance in this world, the pride is just doubled.
What’s my commitment?
As of this year, I have committed myself to the following things:
1. I would attempt to summit Mount Baker with my fellow climbers with the help of Asha volunteers.
2. I would raise $750 for donating to Asha which would then go in supporting primarily the GRAVIS project and other projects at Asha. If the money I have raised doesn’t reach $750, I will pay it myself.
3. This is only the beginning where I start doing something to make a difference.
What can you do?
Asha is rated 100% on Charity Navigator and all the donations go directly to supporting education.
See here
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=7630
If you believe in this cause as I do and would like to help me raise money, there are 3 ways you can do this.
1. You can click the Donate button on the right side of this page.
2. You can also donate via check made to “Asha for Education”. Please include “Team Asha Climb 2016 – Samarth Gupta” on the memo and mail it to the address at the bottom of this page.
3. (For Microsoft employees) through http://give
Go to http://give
Click on “Go to My Giving Portal”
Click on “Make a Donation”
In the Find a Cause box, Search for “Asha for Education – Seattle Chapter”
Click Donate Now
Add “2016 Asha Climb Program – for Samarth Gupta” in the comments
If you are making a contribution, please let me know by sending me an email at samarthgupta110@gmail.com.
No contribution is a small contribution.
Thanks for reading and for your support. Hopefully, we will all make a difference together.