My big summer plan of 2016 is to summit Mount Baker and help “Asha for Education” to raise money for underprivileged children and women in India.
What is Asha for Education?
Asha for Education is a non-profit voluntary organization dedicated to socio-economic change in India mainly using the medium of education for young children.
My goal is to raise funds for programs supported by the Seattle chapter of Asha for Education. “Climb for Asha” is one of the programs that places special emphasis on the GRAVIS project. The GRAVIS project works to improve the lives of villagers in the Thar Desert of Western India, by
- focusing on schools for child and adult education. $10 funds a child’s basic education for one month!
- creating self-help group for women
- establishing water harvesting wells
- organizing health camps
Here’s an independent evaluation of the Asha supported work done by GRAVIS since 2008. PBS news hour had a segment on mineworkers in Rajasthan.
Why summit Mount Baker?
It’s been more than 10 years that I have made Seattle our new home. Among the many things that you fall in love in Seattle are the numerous mountains that tower over the landscapes. This year I have decided to summit one of them – Mount Baker. At 10,781 ft, Mount Baker is the highest and most heavily glaciated peak of the North Cascade Range volcanoes.
Summiting Mount Baker is a hard technical climb that will require glacier mountaineering and find through icefalls, seracs and large crevasses. This is by far the most challenging goal that I have set for myself in the recent past. To help me with this, I have joined the “Climb for Asha” team who are partnering with Miyar Adventures to train us for this climb.
You can see my progress so far here. I will be climbing Mt Adams along with other peaks in the Cascades as part of my training for the Mount Baker summit climb on July 28th 2016.
How can I help?
I have committed to raise a minimum of $750 for the Asha GRAVIS project and I need your help to achieve this goal.
You can donate by using the “Donate” button on the right side of this page. You can also donate via check made to “Asha for Education”. Please include “Team Asha Climb 2016 – Surya Jakhotia” on the check and mail it to the address at the bottom of this page. Let me know when you donate by check to help me track the amount raised.
No amount is small and every dollar will help create better opportunities for women and children.
Absolutely 100% of your donation goes directly to fund projects in India. Asha volunteers pick up the administrative cost and act as stewards for projects which Asha supports.
Join me and invest in Asha’s work to give kids and women a better future, and make the communities stronger and healthier.
Thank you so much for your support.
