On September 11th, a group of 21 individuals from the United Kingdom started to trek Stok Kangri, the highest mountain in the Stok Range of the Himalayas in the Ladakh region of northwest India. The trekkers are all volunteers, and the purpose of their challenging undertaking is to help raise awareness and funds for the Food for Life Vrindavan Society (FFLV), which had been serving needy people, especially children by providing free food, health care and education in the Braj area for decades. 

The base camp at 5,100 meters

The trek to Stok Kangri was a great success. Out of the 21 trekkers, 12 made it to base camp at 5,100 meters and 8 made it to the summit at 6,153 meters (20,182 feet) on September 17th.

Reaching the top of the mountain was a huge challenge. They began the climb at midnight and reached the summit at 8:30 am on September 17th, in extreme cold. 

Climbing up to the summit

Coming back down to the base camp was not an easy task either.

After one more night at the base camp at 5,100 meters, they made it to the nearby town Leh, and next morning travelled to Delhi and Agra where they visited the Taj Mahal and had a very long hot shower.

The next morning the trekkers visited the Sandipani Muni School in Vrindavan, for which they have been collecting. They enjoyed serving the children with a nice feast and giving them gifts.

The children welcomed the trekkers with great joy

The children warmly welcomed the trekkers and presented them with a lot of beautiful dances on their arrival.

The group of brave trekkers are now back home in the UK. Along with other generous souls, they have raised a total of 80.000 US$ for the purpose of providing 500 under-provileged children with free education.

Anyone still wishing to contribute to the noble cause can do so by visiting the following links:  http://www.fflvrindavan.org/en/donate.html ,  https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/rupa 

OR http://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/trek-challenge-for-a-new-school/71318