3000km walk across India and Nepal in aid of health post in the Himalayas.
A London based British walker is going to trek 3000km across India and Nepal to help raise vital equipment for a newly built healthpost in the remote himalayas. Help Nepal Network helped build the healthpost 6 months ago and is in desparate need for funds to get it up and running. Stephen 'stepped' in at just the right time.
(PRWEB) July 3, 2004
Council officer Stephen Watkins is undertaking a 3000km trek across India and Nepal to help raise money for Help Nepal Network, a UK Reg Charity in July 2004.
The money will be used to buy medical supplies for a health outpost the charity has helped build in Mugu, a remote area in north-west Nepal.
Stephen, who expects to walk up to 20 miles a day, starts his journey in Ladakh, north India, before traveling south through the Himalayan foothills to the Nepalese border.
He will then cross Nepal and re-enter India in Bengal where he will head up for Darjeeling for a well-deserved cup of tea and his final destination of Gangtok in Sikkim.
Stephen, 39, who works as a press officer, said: “I’ve always loved walking and this gives me the chance to satisfy the not-so-young Indiana Jones in me. I’m expecting it to be a hard slog but have visited India and Nepal on a number of previous occasions and look forward to seeing a different side to these countries.”
”I won’t pretend that I’m not nervous about the trip but the fact that I’m helping raise money for charity will be an extra incentive when my legs start to wobble on those steep hills.”
Stephen, who says he prefers snow to sunshine, expects the walk to take up to five months and has enlisted the help the charity to provide him with some contacts along the way.
He will be hoping for more luck than his previous visit several years ago when he was detained by the Indian Army on suspicion of being first an escaped prisoner then a spy while trekking in Ladakh.
Stephen said: “Some villagers reported a stranger wandering around and the army turned up that night and carted me off to their base for questioning.”
The health post, the charity has helped build is located in the heart of the Himalayas, on the banks of Rara Lake. This undiscovered beauty spot is not on the usual trekking routes due to its inaccessibility. This isolation adds to the lack of even basic healthcare facilities in the region.
For more information on how you can help please visit www. helpnepal. net or call Dr Pranab Gyawali on 07979 503 506. Email admin@helpnepal. net
ABOUT HELP NEPAL
The charity Help Nepal Network (UK Charity Reg. No. 1088951 ) was set up by Nepalese people living outside of the country to help their people back home. It is run by volunteers and all money raised goes into health and education projects in Nepal. Since itÂ’s was founded in 1999 Help Nepal has built schools and primary health facilities for some of the remotest area of the country. Other projects include funding Hepatitis B vaccinations and eye operations. The Network has affiliated groups across Europe, the US and Australia and many supporters around the globe wanting to help the people of Nepal.
