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All for a noble cause

Harsha Makhija will trek in sub-zero conditions across a frozen river to raise awareness and funds for a new school

Indian Harsha Makhija, 40, is planning to walk a frozen river in a remote Indian village this month to raise money for a residential school. The mother of three, currently working as a property broker in Dubai, has been helping fund education for 50 school children, between the ages of four to 15 in Ladakh since 2010.
Setting out on her maiden trip to Zanskar on January 29, Makhija is determined to create awareness by taking up this arduous trek. Parts of Zanskar valley near Ladakh are considered some of the coldest continually inhabited places in the world. "I was inspired by Tamara Cannon, a Sydney-based lawyer, who quit her job to set up Lillefro Foundation, which supports greenhouse projects, and provides education to over 100 children from the remotest parts of Ladakh," Makhija told Khaleej Times.
For this project, Makhija has collaborated with the Lillefro Foundation to construct a residential school in Zanskar so that children don't have to risk their lives going to school in Leh anymore. "Going to Leh means walking this river. My objective is to support Lillefro House, so that the students would never need to walk the river Chadar just to get to school," she added.
The thought of reaching out to the tiny tots in far-flung areas of her home country first hit Makhija nearly six years ago. "In August 2010 I took a camera and joined a trek to get out of my comfort zone. Flash floods had hit Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir around that time. While the trek got cancelled, I went ahead with the journey. For 21 days post-floods, I was there with my camera. I saw the destruction and visited a relief tent that was set up to temporarily accommodate the survivors. We walked over the broken homes in Choglamsar. I was informed that the rescue operations had been halted since it was too difficult to dig any survivors out.
"The temperatures were dropping and one school had housed nearly 20 victims, in an attempt to keep them out of the cold. Madame Sarla Chewwang assisted me in the course of years to find children who were orphaned or in a situation that they needed to be taken care of. That is how I came to find the sponsors for 50 children in two schools over the last six years. Seven such students are from Zanskar."
Over the years Harsha has stepped up her efforts to help these children. She has volunteered to sponsor students and take care of their education and boarding expenses. Her upcoming trip is part of the same humanitarian endeavour. "I am leaving Dubai on January 29. We will acclimatise for two days in Leh as it is at an altitude of 11,400 feet. Our team will start the walk from February 1 and return on February 9 after walking approximately 10 to 12 kilometres per day. The challenge would be enduring with temperatures plunging to -20C.
"There will be no fire even in the camp. In such a situation hypothermia is a high-risk element. In some parts where the river melts, it can be very dangerous as one wrong step might result in being swept away by ice-cold currents. Being a heavily militarised region, due to borders with China and Pakistan, the use of satellite phones is prohibited. We will be a self sustaining group of eight people with no communication with the rest of the world, having to cope with our own emergencies, should there be any."
Trips costs are self-covered. "Media creating awareness and word of mouth is how the funds are coming in. Dubai has been very generous and supportive. It has been overwhelming for me as to how large-hearted people are. I am quite emotionally overwhelmed by so much love and tear up when people hug and whisper words of kindness," Makhija concluded. 
-sadiq@khaleejtimes.com