There are people who mourn and spiral into depression when they face adversity. And then there are people like Girish Agarwal who make pain their armour and combat challenges that life throws at them. Indian-Canadian, Girish, lost both his sons to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) within days of their birth. The pain of losing his sons led to his resolve of preventing deaths or diseases caused by open defecation and the resultant spread of germs. He scaled Africa’s largest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, on February 29, and raised $60,000 to build toilets for girls in 100 schools in India.
In an interview, last week, he explained how the climb was part of his “Summit of Dignity Initiative” which aims to raise funds to build toilets, improve sanitation in schools and communities throughout India.
Breach of dignity
Agarwal’s focus is on funding toilets in schools, as he is disturbed by the prospect of children having to defecate in the open. He believes it is a blatant breach of dignity, enough to stop students from attending school. He always nurtured the dream of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. So, it seemed an ideal opportunity to combine it with the hope of improving sanitation in India. However, convincing his family and friends was a Herculean task. They were worried about the rough terrains, steep paths and climbing a mountain that was 5,900 metres high. “But they relented when they knew how committed I was,” he says, in an interview.
He further explains how the training was intensive and he gave it his all. He is not a morning person, and he worked nights. So, his primary challenge was having to wake up at the crack of dawn to train. His friends accompanied him on runs in the freezing mornings, in Canada. His wife helped with his diet.
Agarwal has also tied up with the Aga Khan Development Network. The Network has helped construct toilets in various countries. Agarwal’s target is to raise roughly Rs 1.67 crores. He says on his fundraiser page that he has plans of “building 100,000 household toilets, 528 school toilet blocks and 26 community toilet complexes.”
