OM Himalaya hike to raise funds for Dalit children

A team of 20 volunteers with Operation Mobilisation will scale the heights of the Himalayas this autumn to raise funds for some of India's most oppressed and vulnerable people, Dalit children.

India's estimated 250 million Dalits, formerly known as the 'untouchables' of society, have benefited little from the country's huge economic advancement in recent years as they continue to face extreme poverty and severe discrimination for being outside Hindu's caste system.

They are often in poorly paid menial work and in rural areas are still socially segregated - Dalits are not allowed to consume the same food and water as people of a higher caste background.

Discrimination includes violence. In the latest incidence, OM reports that a six-year-old girl was pushed into a fire for walking on the 'wrong' path.

OM continues to develop positive relationships with Dalits in India, having built up a network of 80 schools across the country to provide 13,000 Dalit children with an education.

At the request of local leaders, the Dalit Education Centres follow an English-medium curriculum underpinned by a Christian worldview of personal worth to God. Adults are also able to benefit from the education centres through evening classes, health seminars and self-help groups.

Funds raised in OM's sponsored hike up the Himalayas will go towards a brand new centre in Jharkhand state.

As part of the trek through the Nanda Devi region, the team will visit one of the schools overseen by OM.

Team leader and OM worker Sharon Rose said, "I want a first hand, physical experience that will make this more real to me so I can make it more real for others.

"To meet the people, to visit their communities, to see the schools, to witness the transformation that is taking place and to be able to say, 'I have been, I have seen and I have my own stories to tell.'"

The team will set off on the six-day trek on September 13, hiking around five hours a day over difficult terrain. Although it will push the hikers physically and mentally, Sharon believes that being immersed in God's amazing creation will help "uplift" her own faith.

"I am sure I will learn a lot about perseverance and team work. This is a chance to literally grow closer to God!" she said.