A woman of indomitable spirit, Arunima Sinha who scaled Mt. Everest and became the first differently-abled woman in India to conquer the highest peak, on the eve of International Women’s Day gave a motivational speech at Ummeed, Rotary Club of Jamshedpur's annual programme held at the Beldih Club. Arunima was the guest of honour who through her speech left everybodyspellbound about the challenges he faced in life.
Ummeed, which means ‘hope’ is an awareness and sensitisation seminar for disabled organised annually at the Beldih Club. It is a part of Rotary's Project Disability which ensures free aids to the disabled in and around Jamshedpur.
She encouraged the participants to challenge themselves, aim for the extra-ordinary as opposed to the average. She reinforced the importance of making repeated attempts, to strengthen your resolve with every failure you’re faced with, until you emerge a winner.
“Victory is in the attitude you carry during the pursuit of your dream, it’s not merely the act of achieving something. Our ability never restricts us, our thoughts do. Don’t be afraid to fail,” she noted.
Tragedy struck when Arunima lost her left leg after miscreants pushed her off a running Padmawati Express, while travelling from lucknow to Greater Noida on April 12, 2011 in an attempt to rob her of gold chain. The ill-fated incident took place in Bareilly while she was going for a job interview.
Sharing her experiences an exuberant Arunima said that people used to laugh at her for dream to take into adventure sports and conquer Mt Everest with artificial limb only. " I had decided my goal on the hospital bed that I wanted to climb Mt. Everest. People made me a laughing stock and I remember Bachendri Pal was the first person outside my family to understand me and after a camp and journey I made it to the top," said Arunima said.
Sinha was sponsored and supported by Tata Steel for her expedition as well as all the necessary trainings and mentorship for the challenging journey. She had undergone a rigorous a training and conditioning camps under the able guidance of Bachendri Pal.
“We at Rotary, salutes Arunima’s courage, grit, determination and dedication that have played major role in her very special achievement. Youth of the country will derive inspiration from the world-beaters like Arunima as they have etched their names in history for their extraordinary and brave achievements, inspite of all odds,” noted Anita Gupta, a senior functionary of Rotary Club.