“THIS IS TRULY THE ROAD NOT TRAVELLED ON”

I am Dr.Mamatha Lala. I am running a crowdfunding campaign to raise 18L to go on an expedition to the Arctic Pole or Northern Pole of Inaccessibility. I have been blessed with a unique ‘Once in a lifetime opportunity’! I am one of the 28 members chosen from across the globe [and one of the only 2 Indians chosen – the other person being my husband] to take part in one of the most ambitious polar expeditions of our times!! I aim to be part of the first expedition in history to successfully reach the ‘Northern Pole of Inaccessibility’ [also known as the ‘Arctic Pole’ or ‘The Last Pole’], which has never been reached by any man ever before in the history of mankind!

THE LASTPOLE EXPEDITION

Despite our climate predicament, there is something hugely positive going on. People from all walks of life, all levels of society and many nations are committing themselves to complete something quite extraordinary they are training to become modern-day polar explorers and take part in the most arduous and ground-breaking expedition of our era. They are going to reach the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility - the Last World First to be claimed in the Polar Regions. It is a journey of over 800 miles (1200 km) across treacherous sea-ice, in one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth. They'll face frigid temperatures that will freeze flesh in seconds, polar bears that will hunt them and an ocean that could swallow them up. It will take, perfect teamwork and preparation. But when they make it, they’ll have achieved not only A World First but a vital benchmark for the scientific community and the measurement of global change.

WHAT IS THE “NORTHERN POLE OF INACCESSIBILITY”?  WHERE IS IT?

Situated at 85° 47‘ N, 176° 9‘ E, the “Northern Pole of Inaccessibility”, defined as the furthest point from land on the Arctic Ocean and therefore at its very centre, remains the last truly significant place on Planet Earth, yet to be reached by mankind and is over 270 miles beyond the Geographic North Pole. 

ABOUT ME

I am Dr. Mamatha Lala, a Pediatrician & a Pediatric HIV Specialist dedicated to caring for orphans & vulnerable children of the HIV epidemic in India for over 18 years. A rank student in my school & college days & a Gold Medalist in my Medical University, I realized my childhood dream of becoming a doctor & went on to specialize in Pediatrics. After getting the coveted Masters degree in Pediatrics, I have dedicated my career to the underprivileged & have been working at various charitable hospitals & several NGOs taking care of children infected & affected with HIV and simultaneously working towards preventing mother to child transmission of HIV. Having taken up the challenging frontier of HIV /AIDS as my career goal, I went on to train in several centers of excellence around the World, mainly in the USA, Europe, Africa, but settled into serving the orphans & vulnerable children, here in my motherland, India. 

I have published 2 books on Pediatric HIV/AIDS. I have Over 43 publications in reputed National & International journals and over 150 presentations in various Regional, National & International Conferences.

An adventure sports enthusiast since childhood, I’ve done several extreme adventure sports like – skydiving, white water river rafting, parasailing, gliding, abseiling, Himalayan car rally, etc.

AWARDS WON

It will be my honor to undertake this extremely arduous expedition for a truly worthwhile cause that is close to my heart - to promote awareness for the HIV positive children and adolescents, to whom my career has been dedicated since the last 18 years!

WHY FUND ME?

It is a great honor for me to be part of this history in the making and bringing my nation to the forefront in the field of worthwhile scientific exploration for the betterment of mankind. 

The aim of this expedition for me is three-fold. 

• Firstly, the sheer adventure and challenge in being one of the first humans to reach this significant point on earth, hitherto untouched by mankind. 

• Secondly, and more importantly, to have ground validation of the actual conditions of the Arctic sea ice and to gather “crucial datasets” to help benchmark the condition of the Arctic Ocean, which is the need of the hour, given the rapid progression of global warming with its consequences on our planet. 

• Thirdly, using this international platform for a cause that is very close to my heart - to promote awareness for Children with HIV in India, an area that I have been working since the last 18 years!

THIS IS WHERE WE ARE GOING:

THIS IS HOW MUCH I NEED TO GET THERE:

GOALS ON MY RETURN:

I would like to inspire the young and old, male and female through various platforms [seminars, motivational talks, workshops, interviews] to get out of their comfort zone and push their limits for a cause that is close to their hearts, no matter where they are and what they do. I will continue to serve the HIV infected children, adding value to the already dedicated service that I’m doing for 18 years. 

TAX BENEFITS

Funding for this campaign is eligible for tax breaks as the NGO is a registered trust and you can avail of benefits under section 80G of the IT act. Foreign funding is accepted too.

RISKS AND CHALLENGES:

This will be an extremely arduous expedition, where our team will be covering 800 miles in 80 days on foot [divided into 4 legs - each leg consisting of 7 members covering 200 miles in 20 days] on the frozen Arctic Ocean, treading on miles and miles of disintegrating ice floes beneath our feet, facing fiercely low temperatures and extremely powerful winds, evading hungry polar bears, all for a truly purposeful, significantly useful global cause. 

Obviously an expedition of this nature will be inherent with various risks and challenges dependant on many factors [weather conditions, logistic challenges, etc] that may be beyond human control. If for any reason, the expedition gets called off, I would like to utilize the raised funds to still go ahead and do the Geographic North Pole for the exact same cause, with the consent of the funders.