Climbing for a Cause!

This is my six-year old daughter Saesha. Strong-willed, incredibly smart and oh so fearless, Saesha isn’t one to back down from a challenge. Her adventurous spirit has taken us places I never imagined. We have paraglided in the Swiss Alps, rock-climbed in the Himalayas and now we are about to embark on our most daring journey thus far. At 29,035 feet, Mount Everest is the highest point on Earth. While we won’t be attempting a climb to the summit just yet, we do have plans to scale the Everest Base Camp. This is no easy feat. The Everest Base Camp reaches a height of 17,598 feet and ascending to the top will take us nine days. If Saesha can complete the trek, she will be the youngest climber in the Limca book of records.

While there is no denying this will be an exhilarating trip, the truth is Saesha isn’t just doing this for the thrills. My daughter’s love for adventure is only outmatched by her love for the planet. She hopes that her story will raise the awareness that the Earth so desperately needs. Saesha is especially concerned about our oceans. She often reads about water pollution and knowing the beauty of the marine ecosystem, finds this absolutely devasting.

Recently Saesha learned about the destruction that scrubber usage on marine vessels is causing and she is desperate to bring attention to this cause. Scrubbers allow ship owners to continue to use heavy sulfur fuel oil to power their vessels. The intention is for these devices to scrub contaminants from the fuel before those contaminants get released into the air but the process creates a toxic washwater. In many cases, this washwater is dumped directly into the ocean without further treatment. Not only is this harmful to marine environment but it is also damaging to coastal communities. Saesha wants her record-breaking climb on Mount Everest to stop this meaningless destruction.

We begin our journey to base camp in the coming days and Saesha can’t wait to share her message. As she has told me, with the right attitude nothing is impossible. I take this to heart. Whether it is scaling to the top of the world or protecting our planet, I know my little girl will continue to do extraordinary things.