Lawyer's cycling marathon for widows in Kashmir

Wednesday 29th January 2020 03:59 EST
 
 

On 3rd February 2020, Chris Parsons, a philanthropist and lawyer at international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills will embark on a gruelling cycling journey to raise funds for widows of Jammu and Kashmir on behalf of UN accredited charity, The Loomba Foundation. Chris will cover over 4,500 kilometres in about 45 days starting from Kanyakumari in the southern India to Srinagar in the north.

This is not the first time that Chris has decided to undertake such a challenge to raise funds for the vulnerable. He says,

“I took my first sabbatical at the law firm in 2006 when I cycled to raise funds for a children’s charity. Later, when I was celebrating my 50th birthday in 2011, I decided to continue with my long-distance sporting activities to raise funds for various other charities.”

Over the next few years, Chris relocated to India where he headed his law firm whilst frequently visiting London. During this period, he was determined to support Indian charities having seen first-hand accounts of those suffering from lack of resources. This was the beginning of his association with Lord Raj Loomba, founder of The Loomba Foundation

He says,“I was keen to help the helpless. It was sheer happenstance when I first met Lord Raj Loomba at a business lunch in London where he told me that his charity was supporting widows in India. We discussed various collaborative ideas and later when I visited his office we came up with the idea of cycling from London to Gibraltar for The Loomba Foundation.”

30th wedding anniversary, walking 30 marathons in 30 days

In 2011, Chris raised $200,000 by cycling from London to Gibraltar. In 2015, he decided to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary by undertaking yet another fundraising adventure. This time he decided to walk 30 marathons in 30 days and was successful in raising $300,000, again for The Loomba Foundation. He started from Mumbai along the coast of Maharashtra and Goa to Mangalore in Karnataka before turning east to cross the Western Ghats and into Bangalore, covering a distance of over 1200kms.

Mental challenges, exercise regimes, and traffic hazards

This will be his last adventure bearing in mind his health, fitness and training regime. Chris who has devoted almost a year of his time in training for this challenge was mindful of the changes in climate conditions across the length of India. Therefore, whilst training in London, he invested in a Peloton Bike to exercise indoors. In the meantime, he also spent two months in India to acclimatize himself with the hot and humid temperatures of the sub-continent. Outdoor jogging sessions helped him acclimatize with the exertion that can result from dehydration and sweating. He says, “There will be adjustments that I will have to make. But beyond health and climate conditions, I believe it is the mental strength that gets tested the most. Based on my '30 Walking Marathons in 30 days' experience, I believe the mental challenge of completing this task will be the bigger hurdle.

“I am also anxious about traffic hazards on Indian roads. With no special cycling lanes allocated on the roads in most locations, I am concerned about my safety. I have seen some statistics which report that India accounts for 11% of road deaths globally in spite of only having a 2% share of cars on the road. That is concerning despite having a back-end logistics team to support me on the road.”

In this expedition, Chris will be accompanied by Sachin, the physiotherapist who also supported him during the ‘30 Marathons in 30 Days’ expedition in 2015. Towards the end of the mission, Chris is aiming to raise US$450,000 to help impoverished widows and their children on behalf of The Loomba Foundation.

Chris has been an ambassador for The Loomba Foundation since 2011. He says,“Unfortunately, many widows in India are left destitute when their husbands dies. Through  empowerment programmes, The Loomba Foundation has been providing skills training and other support to help widows become self-sufficient so that they can support themselves and their families.

“I have personally visited schools in Delhi where the children of widows have been educated, and I have also met a number of widows – including in Varanasi – who have been empowered thanks to the tremendous support of The Loomba Foundation. And I believe we will be able to achieve the same results for such widows in Jammu and Kashmir.”

In this venture, they have been supported by corporates like Oyo Hotels, and Unilever. You can lend your support by visiting: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-parsons40

To receive regular updates of Chris Parsons and his cycling expedition you can visit his blog: https://cyclingwidows2020.home.blog

The Loomba Foundation was set up in London in 1997 by Lord Raj Loomba CBE and his wife Lady Veena Loomba in memory of his mother Pushpa Wati who was widowed in 1954 at the early age of 37. 


comments powered by Disqus



to the free, weekly Asian Voice email newsletter