Inspired by the Father of the Nation, Jill Beckingham begins historic 375-km walk from Sabarmati Ashram to raise funds for poor
Inspired by the Father of the Nation, Jill Beckingham begins historic 375-km walk from Sabarmati Ashram to raise funds for poorMahatma Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha 80 years ago might have been a rebellion to break free of the British Raj over the country, but yesterday morning, wife of British Deputy High Commissioner in Mumbai, Jill Beckingham, started the walk to retrace Dandi Yatra, from Sabarmati Ashram;u00a0 as a mark of respect and friendship for the country, she says.
The modern march, called India-UK Friendship Walk started from the Sabarmati Ashram, at 6.30 am and Jill will end the walk at Dandi beach in Surat on December 4.
Jill Beckinghamu00a0poses by the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad yesterday at the start of the India-UK Friendship WalkThe 17-day walk will see Jill Beckingham traverse a distance of 375 km, with three days of rest periods en route.
"I was wondering what one person can do to give back to the society. During a visit to the Ashram and interacting with some scholars in Vadodara, it struck me that everybody knows about this historic movement and it would be the most natural thing to want to do.
Raising funds from our corporate sponsors through this walk to donate to the NGOs would be my way of giving back to the society," she said.
Beckingham is primarily committed to issues of child trafficking in different parts of the world, but the six NGOs she will be donating to function in varied areas like child education and tribal development.
People from different walks of life will join in on the 17-day walk.
"Around five people from the UK Embassy will join in over the last weekend," husband Peter Beckingham, who is joining her for the first and last few days, said.
During the walk, 1,000 tribals will join in the last leg near Dandi, a group of deaf children Jill is supporting in Mumbai and a few leprosy affected students will also join in.
An Octogenarian Mohan Patel, who attended the original Dandi march with Bapu as a two-year-old with his mother, will also join in at Nadiad for a while.
One of the stops will be Kasturba Ashram at Maroli, run by Ushaben Gokani, Gandhiji's great granddaughter. Several UK-born Gujaratis, who wish to reconnect with their homeland, will be joining in.
Jill, who has been maintaining a strict fitness regimen of walking around 10 km thrice in a week, hopes to walk about 20 km everyday. "I would try to walk for about five hours everyday," Jill said.
"I am not emulating Gandhi. I am doing this as a mark of respect to him. He was such a great leader, founder of the nation and everyone holds him in very high esteem, Beckingham said while responding to a query as to why, despite being a Britisher, she was taking up the Dandi walk.
20 kmThe average distance that Jill Beckingham plans to walk every day during the Indo-UK Friendship Walk
