-- SHORT TERM MISSION TRIP INFO.
Spend some time climbing in India and helping out
earthquake
victims with Habitat
for Humanity International (non-profit Christian Housing
Ministry). The idea of these Short Term Missions is to offer good hearted
folks the chance to have "A Vacation with a Purpose" -- and I'll guarantee
it will be an experience that will touch you for the rest of your life .
I am planning a Climb & Build Short Term Mission trip this
fall. Fall weather is cooler, making for perfect climbing
days, not to mention much better construction weather as well. We will be
linking up with climbers from India who will act as our guides (and hopefully
come out and volunteer with us on the build site as well).
We are trying to keep costs down so lodging/accommodations/etc. won't be
the ritz. "Non-happy camper types" need not apply for this particular trip
series (please) -- you can check out our website to find more suitable Short
Term Mission trips that may have "posher" accommodations and more touristy
type-sightseeing oriented recreational activities that might be more suitable
for you (our Global Village
Department has something for EVERYONE).
You don't have to be a Christian to go on these trips -- (and you don't have
to know JACK about construction either). We won't be trying to convert anyone
while we're there. We're just there to spread love and bring hope through
actions, deeds, good works, and general human kindness-- and, of course,
TO EXPLORE SOME NEW CRAGS AS WELL !! All that's required is a big (and willing)
heart and some real outdoor climbing experience. There will be recreational
activities for non-climbers as well so if you have a non-climbing spouse
or "significant other", they can be accommodated.
I
want to put my teams together in advance and then firm up the itinerary details
by including team member suggestions. This way, everyone will get the most
out of their experience.
DETAILS:
Departure date from Atlanta: Friday, September 27,
2002
Return date to Atlanta: Sunday, October 20,
2002
For those of you who might only have two weeks of vacation, we will conduct
the "build"/"mission" portion of the trip during the first two weeks (with
three days of climbing scheduled
in-between).
You'll be able to fly home from there at that time. Again, you
wouldn't get as much climbing in, and you wouldn't see as much diversity
as I'm hoping to make available for the rest of the team.... but there would
still be plenty of great memories, culture and history that you could take
home with you in that time.....
If fall doesn't work for you, I'll be taking another team to Southwest
India (probably the State of Kerala) in April
2003, but we won't be working with earthquake victims on that trip.
There are plenty of people not affected by the earthquake with day to day
poverty and hardship, that could really use your help in India, so both trips
will be memorable and moving.
If you're interested and would like to learn more, please check out these
links:
http://www.habitat.org/gv/intlfacts.html
- Global Village Fact Sheet
http://www.habitat.org/gv/schedule.html
- Global Village Program schedule
Email me for details at
tstoops@hfhi.org.
Please look at the Global
Village Fact Sheet (first link) and read that page before contacting
me -- I think it will answer quite a few of your initial
questions.
Weather:
October temperatures range from a max of 36C/97F to a minimum of 23C/73F
(November hi's and low's are the same, so waiting a month won't make a
difference). The average rainfall for October is 9 millimeters (compare that
with the monsoon season (310mm in July, 204mm in August and 106mm in September)
.
National Holidays and Festivals occurring during our visit:
October 2 - Gandhi's Birthday (Gandhi was born in Ahmedabad, so that
might be pretty neat :)
October 7-15 - Navratri is the most widely celebrated festival
of Gujarat. The 9-night festivities include plenty of colorful folk
dancing,feasting and fasting.
http://www.ahmedabadcity.com/
tourism/html/navratri.html
October 15 - Dussera (in summary, its a celebration of the victory
of Good over Evil). Dussera occurs at the close of the 9 day festival called
Navratri.
Climbing
India has some fabulous places where rock climbing can be combined
with nearby tourist-related activity. Udaipur, for instance, is a great stop
or even a convenient base for climbing in Mt Abu which has some nice volcanic
rock formations and offers very good climbing opportunities. Mt Abu also
has the State Mountaineering Institute, located at SadhnaBhawan. It was
established in the late '60s by the Rajasthan government for the promotion
of adventure sports, particularly rock climbing and mountaineering. The institute
trains people from all walks of life in rock climbing throughout the year.
Courses are conducted at their training area near the Brahma Kumaris ashram
on the other side of the famous tourist attraction, the Nakki lake. There
are long, easy-angle slab climbs above the Adhar Devi temple,
150 m at the highest point. The climbs on the slab are fun and
provide a perfect view of the Nakki lake and the old summer homes of the
rajas of Rajasthan. The hill station, at an altitude of 3,000 ft, is cool
and ideal for climbing year round except during the monsoon months. The training
area has some interesting cracks and beginner slabs and there are a wide
variety of routes of all grades. Rajasthan is the State just east of Gujarat.
In Gujarat there is a place called Pavagadh (sometimes spelled Pawagadh).
Its 40 km from Vadodara and 70 km from Ahmedabad. Its the only hill in this
vast, flat plain. It rises 700 m into the air and has some interesting rock
formations on top. There is a ropeway running from the base of the hill to
the top of the plateau. The rock formation is 100 m at its highest with at
least 20 routes on the walls, apart from the boulders at the base which pose
some interesting problems. (Note: The fortified hilltop temple town of Pawagadh
has Kali temples worshipped by thousands of pilgrims during Navratri)
Mumbai/(Bombay)--There are innumerable climbing areas in the Western Ghats
and many exciting climbs on the pinnacles around Mumbai. Mumbai / Bombay
-- is most likely the main city that we will be flyinginto, so I thought
we could spend our last week exploring this region.
here's a link to general climbing info:
http://www.india-today.com/iplus/41997/living2.html
Peace y'all
Trish Stoops and Dave German
Habitat for Humanity International
121 Habitat Street
Americus, GA 31709
(800) HABITAT ext. 2896
(229) 924-6935 ext. 2896
Fax: (229) 928-6088
email: TStoops@hfhi.org
web:
http://www.habitat.org
have "A Vacation with a Purpose"
`