Mt Kili for Lumla girls

I'm climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in October and I'm using this opportunity to raise funds to support a young charitable foundation with their efforts to help young girls in the Himalayan region.  100% of the funds I raise will be used to buy books and other educational supplies for the 80-90 young girls that will be housed and educated in a nearly-built school in Lumla.  Lumla is located in the Tawang Dictrict of Arunachal Pradesh in Eastern India.  Arucnachal Pradesh means “land of the dawn-lit mountains”. It is the eight least populous district in India.

The girls' plight
Due to the remoteness, inaccessibility and extreme poverty of the area, children rarely get any education. Older children work in agriculture together with their parents, whilst younger girls remain isolated at home, looking after younger siblings and maintaining the household. A common ailment amongst these children is blindness or bad sight, caused by the flue-less cooking fires in their homes. Many girls will marry and have many children of their own at a very young age. Lack of health education, poor hygiene and basic facilities often cause an early death for these young mothers, leaving many children orphaned and having to fend for themselves. As a result of this, many young girls are abused and forced into prostitution in the bigger cities.

About Tara Bodong
Tara Bodong (Netherlands) was created as a non-profit charitable foundation to support humanitarian projects in  northern India and Nepal. The projects are initiated locally and overseen by the Tibetan lama, Geshe Pema Dorjee. The foundation is run by a group of International friends in Hilversum (The Netherlands) that share the same goal: to do something meaningful with their lives by helping others less fortunate. They keep the foundation as lean as possible by keeping overhead costs to an absolute minimum, thus making sure that every euro and dollar donated goes entirely to their charity projects.  You can learn more about Tara Bodong by visiting their site here .

Tibetan Lama, Geshe Pema Dorjee
Through Tibetan Lama, Geshe Pema Dorjee’s many trips to the surrounding villages of Lumla, he recognised the apparent need of the people suffering from extreme poverty. He has taken the responsibility of organizing, directing and raising funds for numerous humanitarian and charitable projects, of which the girls school in Lumla is one.  You can learn more about Geshe Pema Dorjee here .