Why Himalayas?

Friends and Colleagues, 
          

For those of you who know me, last year I helped raise funds for “Thanks Be To God Foundation”[i] by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro (at 19,340 feet and the tallest free standing mountain in the world). Thanks for your donations and I assure you that they have been put to great use with the help of charity organizations like Focus on Tanzanian Communities (FOTC), Kids Ohio, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio and A Kid Again.

This year again, I am trying to raise money by climbing in the Greater Himalayas (in India) and will be making an attempt to reach the Roopkund Glacier and Kuari Pass. This is a place very close to the Indian border with Tibet and China. Roopkund (a.k.a. Skeleton Lake) is a glacial lake, famous due to more than five hundred human skeletons found at the edge of the lake. The location is uninhabited and is located in the Greater Himalayas at an altitude of about 5,029 meters (16,499 feet). It also is a coincidence that there is a very high probability that these skeletons may be belonging to my ancestors[ii].

With your charitable donations, the TBTG foundation will be purchasing new and used e-readers (Amazon Kindle) and will use them as education tools for kids in Africa.  We have been talking with WorldReaders[iii] to get these e-readers to schools in Africa. Worldreaders has already piloted this concept by deploying some e-readers and we will partner with them by leveraging their channels to distribute these devices. I want to make a small difference by continuing to raise awareness of under privileged children in Africa, and raise funds by climbing to this glacier in the Himalayas.

I believe that the climb will be challenging but doable. I will be inspired and encouraged by your prayers and hopefully your financial support for this worthy cause. I personally will match your donations (dollar for dollar) up to $5,000. Please be aware that 100% of your donation is tax deductible. I will be paying all my expenses associated with the trip and will leave Columbus on September 27^th and begin my ascent on October 2^nd.

Please email me at “leavememessage@gmail.com” should you have any questions or would like additional information. You can donate directly via website www.tbtgfoundation.org or at The Columbus Foundation located at 1234 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43205. Should you wish to donate via the Columbus Foundation please designate your contribution to the “Thanks Be To God Foundation”, attention “Shake”.

In case you are unable to support me with your financial contribution, please pray for my successful climb and safe return.

Thank you and have a blessed day.

Sincerely,

Shake Mahajan

Link to my blog - http://on-top-of-africa.blogspot.com/

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[i] For more information on TBTG,  go to http://www.tgtbfoundation.org.

[ii] For more information on my ancestral  connection, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roopkund

[iii] For more information on WorldReaders, go to http://worldreaders.org