Challenge of a lifetime
Stok Kangri - Himalaya
By Harish Mistry, Enfield, London
Food for Life Vrindavan (FFLV) is a humanitar-
ian aid organisation which supports the poorest
villages of the Vrindavan area, which is 120 km
south of New Delhi. Their mission is to lift children
out of poverty and provide them with practical
knowledge and education.
In August 2013, I was approached by a group who were undertak-
ing a challenge to raise much needed funds for FFLV by trekking in
the Himalayas. This fund was to build a school extension in Vrinda-
van, a site of an ancient forest where, according to Mahabharata,
Lord Krishna spent his childhood days. It is around 10km from
Mathura, which is the Lord Krishna’s birthplace.
After some research of the goal I joined the group of twenty people
with no hesitation, giving myself only two weeks to train and prepare
myself. The rest of the group had been training for six months. For
this expedition we paid almost £2,800 each for flights, hotels, Sher-
pas and equipment.
these children. I, with most of us, had tears in our eyes at observ-
ing the hunger, smiles, happiness, excitement and gratification of
these children when accepting their food. This was the time I felt a
sense of achievement and forgot all about the grueling trek. That
just proved “Putting a smile on a child’s face is priceless.”
We raised just under £100,000, which I am certain will go a long
way towards this plea.
So why did I do it?
It brought back memories of me growing up in Uganda, where my
parents had struggled to give us decent education under difficult
circumstances. Whilst children were very talented, lack of facilities,
equipment and resources let them down. I dedicated this trip to
my parents – my mother Kasiben Mistry and my father (late) Mr
Lallubhai Dayabhai Mistry for being there, for their perseverance,
and always giving but asking for very little.
We left London in September 2013 and targeted Stok Kangri (eleva-
tion 6,153m, 20,182 feet). Stok Kangri lies in the south of Leh and in
the Ladakh region of North West India. The climb requires no special
mountaineering skills, but you should be very well acclimatised and
willing to conquer this peak.
Another 8-9 hours of trek back to the base camp was even more
challenging. Apart from sleeping in tiny tents, the terrain we encoun-
tered in this perilous mountain range was rain, crossing rivers, snow,
ice, rocks and steep slippery hills. All this would have not been pos-
sible without the professionalism of the Sherpas. Such formidable
heights are the realms of mountaineering.
After one more night at the base camp we made it to Leh. Straight
into the showers, a fe