An International lawyer is taking on the epic challenge of cycling 4,500km across the length of India. Starting in the southernmost Indian city of Kanyakumari, Chris Parsons will reach Srinagar, Kashmir 45 days later.
Chris is aiming to raise US$450,000 to help impoverished widows and their children in India on behalf of The Loomba Foundation, a UN accredited global charity.
Chris has been an ambassador for The Loomba Foundation since 2011, the UN accredited charity which was set up in London in 1997 by Lord Raj Loomba CBE and his wife Lady Veena Loomba. The Chairman of the India practice of the international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills said,
“Unfortunately, many widows in India are left destitute when their husband dies. This is where The Loomba Foundation comes in. Through their empowerment programmes, the charity provides skills training and other support to help widows become self-sufficient so that they can support themselves and their families.”
Chris's prior fund-raising campaigns for The Loomba Foundation include cycling 2,000 km from London to Gibraltar in 2011 where he raised $200,000 which educated 240 children of widowed mothers for five years. Additionally, in 2015, he walked 30 marathons in 30 days from Mumbai to Bangalore. He raised $300,000, which helped to support 5,000 widows in the Indian city of Varanasi, home to some 90,000 widows, in a project that was launched by the Prime Minister of India. He said,
“I have personally visited schools in Delhi where the children of widows have been educated, and I have also met a number of the widows – including in Varanasi – who have been empowered thanks to the support of The Loomba Foundation.”
To make a donation visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-parsons40
