British lawyer Chris Parsons, who is on a mission to walk 1,260 km from Mumbai to Bengaluru to raise funds for poor Indian widows and their children, has covered over 500 km, and is reported to be on track to complete his mission on time.
Mr. Parsons, who has completed 30 years of service with Herbert Smith Freehills, a law firm, had announced his plan to walk ‘30 marathons in 30 days’ to help the Loomba Foundation working for the benefit of Indian widows.
The Hindu reported it on November 16, 2014 (‘British lawyer to walk 1,260 km for Indian widows’).
After two years of planning and training, he started his walk on January 10, 2015 and is on his 14th day of the 30-day schedule, walking 42 km every day.
“He was nearly apprehended by some hotel security guards on the first day and had an incident involving a rusty nail and a public toilet where he injured his head. He is, however, coping very well physically,” Lord Raj Loomba, a British Parliamentarian of Indian origin, said in an email.
Lord Loomba’s mother became a widow when he was minor and as someone who had witnessed the suffering of a widow while raising children, he has been relentlessly working to mobilise funds for Indian widows through his Loomba Foundation. He has requested people to support Mr. Parsons in his initiative and donate generously for the benefit of disadvantaged widows and their children.
“There are an estimated 42 million widows and over 100 million children in India. Many of them are malnourished, exposed to disease and subjected to slavery. Widowed women experience targeted murder, rape, prostitution, forced marriage, property theft, eviction and social isolation. They are also subjected to physical, psychological and sexual abuse. This has to stop,” Lord Loomba said.
