Himalayan charity trek

Big-hearted individuals from Bahrain are planning a trek on a Himalayan mountain range to raise money for a local centre for special needs children while they benefit from an experience of a lifetime.

Sixteen residents of the kingdom – five women and 11 men – aged between 21 and 59, are preparing for a trek on Mount Annapurna in Nepal while they raise awareness and canvas for funds from charitable individuals and organisations in Bahrain.

The group, which begins its trip next Friday, hopes to raise an ambitious sum of BD12,000 for students of the Bahrain Society for Children with Behavioural and Communication Disorders, which is located in the Alia Centre for Early Intervention in Sitra.

The 16 fundraising fanatics are from Britain, the US, South Africa, Sweden, Scotland, Australia, Zimbabwe and Bahrain.
Karl Jordan, 43, one of the three lead organisers of the expedition, said: “This is among the top places in the world that people aspire to go to. The Annapurna range is also known to have one of the best vistas in the Himalayan mountain ranges.

“We plan to ascend 3,210m in three days. It can be called a strenuous walk or climb which is not extreme or challenging.

“The whole idea is to have the expedition accessible to everybody and at the same time accommodate people of all levels of fitness.

“We have a couple of people who have minor medical conditions and so the expedition is going to be at a slow pace. It is not a race and people who are tired and cannot finish always have the option to go back.

“The average day will be between four to five hours but if somebody wants to take more time it is fine with us. We are not going to pack up and move away.”

Members of the group have undergone various different methods of preparation for their Himalayan adventure.

Karl, who claims to have not seen the inside of a gym for the past 10-years, said part of his exercise regime is climbing 20 flights of stairs to his flat on the 12th floor.

The trek will undoubtedly prove challenging both physically and mentally. So, in order to help the team maintain their resolve and determination during the ascent, they have been visiting the Alia centre to see firsthand how much the children value the support the organisation provides.

Mr Jordan said: “The event has a plus for everybody. The idea was to help people get involved in something noble rather than just getting involved in donating an amount. Also, it helps in raising awareness that there is such a place in Bahrain that caters to autistic children and they have a waiting list for almost 300 kids. To have people talk about this we need to create an event and get involved in something big.”

Each participant undertaking the adventure has to raise a minimum of BD200 for the cause while paying for their expenses, which is in the range of BD550 after negotiating discounts from hotels and the travel company in Nepal.
 
The group is inviting donations for their favoured charity has raised BD2,800 so far. Anyone wishing to sponsor the team can e-mail paul@behzad-group.com and follow their activities on the Facebook social networking site page ‘Charity walk in the Himalayas’

Team members include Steve Sutton, 47, Paul Henson, 45, Luke Simonds, 46, Jan Sternvad, 45, Doug Seholm, 44, John Docherty, 45, James Sutton, 21, Mike Jackson, 54, Jackie McKinstry, 59, Dr Sawsan Karimi, 43, Sandy Hayes, 59, David Hill, Noora Al Nusuf, Monique and Hani Yousif.