Story
UPDATE – CHALLENGE COMPLETE!
As you can see, I made it to the top of Mt. Kenya too, and will soon return home.
Thank you once again to all of you that dug deep to give, and thank you for spreading the word. You have made an incredible difference to these children’s lives, and your help in completing this challenge will never be forgotten.
Rahul
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UPDATE - MT. KENYA
Thank you for continuing to support this effort! My time in Africa is coming to an end and seeing as we have raised 64% of the target amount, I have decided to climb Mt. Kenya in early May before I leave, to complete my part of this challenge. All I ask in return is for you to please continue to give whatever you can spare and help get us to the target, which is now so close!
Once you have given, please do let others know you have done so and share this page via your Facebook status so others can read this and hopefully give too. We desperately need publicity to get the word out and we simply cannot do it without YOUR help!
I appreciate that you will receive many requests for help from various charitable causes and that it is extremely difficult to decide which to support. I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read my appeal and hope that you will consider my efforts to be worthy of your support.
Rahul
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KILIMANJARO UPDATE!
As you can see from the photos, I made it to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro! Thank you for all your good wishes and messages of support. I had your encouraging words in my mind during the final push, which was the hardest bit of the tiring climb to the top.
We reached the summit, Uhuru Peak, on 2nd March at around 10:30am. We had set off late, at 2am, due to a horrible windstorm, and I suffered a fair bit of altitude sickness through the night, which made getting to the summit all the more sweet.
I would like to thank all those who have given so very generously and helped publicise this page over email and Facebook. Thanks to your efforts and generosity, we have raised close to £3000 to give to Future Hope. The target is very much in sight now and I am confident that we can get there. Please do continue to share this page with your friends. I am extending my stay here in Africa to give us some more time so please help get us to our target and send me up Mt. Kenya!!
Rahul
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Thanks for visiting my page! I’m very excited about this challenge, and I need YOUR help!! The aim is to raise £5000 for Future Hope in Calcutta, to fund its quickly growing needs as they take on the responsibility of improving the lives of even more street children...
In order to raise the money I aim to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Then, if we reach the target amount, as a special thank you for all your generous donations and good wishes I shall climb down and then go climb Mt. Kenya! Now how’s that for a bargain?!
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CALCUTTA
The children that live on the streets of Calcutta come from many different backgrounds and almost every community. Forced onto the streets through a combination of economic hardship and broken homes, these vulnerable kids, some living alone around the railway stations, have suffered serious exploitation and horrific abuse at the hands of adults around them, sometimes even their own parents (Think SlumDog Millionaire, it’s really that bad!) It is these children for whom Future Hope was established, so they have a chance at a better tomorrow...
FUTURE HOPE
Future Hope started in a small flat in Calcutta in 1987, when Tim Grandage opened his doors to a handful of street children. Today, Future Hope has grown to run 8 homes, 1 small professionally run health clinic and a respected school for over 200 children, many of whom come from the surrounding slum communities. The result is a change in circumstance and future that is both amazing and heartwarming. Kids from the school have since managed to get jobs in some of Calcuttas top hotels and banks, work abroad as chefs and even go on to train national sports teams! Given the chance, and the support, the difference to their lives can be that big, and your money helps give them just that!
THE CHALLENGE
Having gotten to know this wonderful organisation and seen first-hand the results of their hard, selfless work, I am pleased to begin my little adventure to help.
This February 26th, I will attempt to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895m and if the target of £5000 is met, I will attempt Mt. Kenya, which at 5,199m is the second highest!
I’ve never ever done anything like this before, so it gives me a sort of nervous energy that’s difficult to explain. The challenge I face in the upcoming months is building enough endurance and I will be sure to keep you updated. Please "like" the following link and share with your contacts too:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rahul-climbing-Kilimanjaro-for-Future-Hope/146427192078684
I’m both thrilled and scared to be taking on this challenge but, as is true with so many things that are really worth doing, this cannot be a solo effort! I need YOUR support, not just to raise the £5000 donation, but also to muster up the internal strength I know I will need to meet the physical and emotional challenges that lie ahead. Knowing you are supporting me will make it a lot easier, and so much more rewarding.
WHY DONATE?
Because every single child needs, indeed DESERVES, the love and security of a safe home; to feel protected, to be nurtured and supported by people they can trust implicitly, so they can grow up into well rounded adults who have a chance at a happy life. Future Hope provides that much needed loving and stable environment, where these children are given the chance to go and fulfil their potential!!
I feel very passionately about this and I cannot stress enough just how much Future Hope helps these kids believe in themselves and the fact that they deserve, and can actually achieve, a happy and fulfilling life.
WHAT YOUR DONATION MEANS
£6.50 New black school shoes
£30 feeds a child for a whole month
£80 provides everything for a child for a whole month!
£100 provides school stationary for a month
Science Laboratory! The school is also trying to achieve CBSE accreditation and in order to do this must have a science laboratory. Your money will go towards helping build that lab, which will open up so many opportunities for the students!
Holiday! The school is trying to organise a well deserved break for some of the older boys and needs Rs. 100,000 (£1400) to take them to Sikkim for climbing and camping as a reward for the hard work they are currently putting in towards their exams in March! These kids are under probably more pressure than other kids and deserve a break just as much!
Please give; you will be making a HUGE difference to these childrens lives, and I can’t even begin to express how good you will feel when you start seeing the amazing results of your donations!! And please share this page with your friends and family, because the publicity you help generate will go a very long way in helping yet more children!
SPORTS AT FUTURE HOPE
Sport is a key pillar of life and a daily activity for the children of Future Hope. Through it they learn trust, teamwork, self-discipline and concentration and it provides a constructive outlet for their energy. The rugby team, Future Hope Harlequins, which is famous in Calcutta and has a tie-up with Londons Harlequins club, is among the best in India. UPDATE: I’m pleased to tell you that the Future Hope Under 16 and Under 20 teams recently became champions of India, which is a tremendous achievement for them and a wonderful reward for the work done by Future Hope! It’s amazing how much a child can accomplish given encouragement, support and a chance to achieve their dreams!!
So, Future Hope provides homes, education, medical aid and opportunities to street children who live in extreme poverty with little or no ability to change their lives. Your money will go towards meeting those needs.
There is so much more to tell you about Future Hope and the children, so if you would like to read more, please click on the following link:
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for believing in this effort and in the important work of Future Hope — and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for offering whatever support you can!! Please do give today, and then tell your friends to do the same!! You will be giving the street children of today a better tomorrow!
Rahul
PS: All the costs involved in both climbs will be funded by me, which means ALL your money goes straight to Future Hope and its children!!
As a bonus, the government will add an extra 28% in Gift Aid to all eligible donations by UK taxpayers, which means we’ll be raising even more, and everyone’s a winner!