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Tuesday June 19, 10:17 PMLabour movement team to trek K2 and do community workSINGAPORE: The Labour movement is making its first expedition to Pakistan's K2 summit, which is the world's second highest peak.The 16 NTUC members are aged 25 to 56 and are from all walks of life. For almost one month (29 June to 26 July) they will take on 'Savage Mountain' K2, located 6,000 metres above sea level. The team has been training for the last eight months and is raring to go. Says Ayaru Taramalingam, Team Leader, NTUC K2 Challenge, "We do a lot of climbing steps, like going up 22 storeys... carrying a load of 10kg. We do a lot [of] walks, from MacRitchie to Bukit Timah, all the time carrying our weights. "And we do a lot [of] circuit training in Bukit Timah that lasts three to four hours. And also to get the team to gel together. Psychologically we are all prepared for it and we're all excited and looking forward to it. The other thing will be weather. Because the weather there can change very fast." At the send-off ceremony on Monday evening, the High Commissioner of Pakistan Sajjad Ashraf and Labour MP Josephine Teo came to cheer them on. Mrs Teo broke into a mini ice mountain to retrieve a trekking stick and presented it to the team leader as a token of good wishes. The team will only be mountain trekking and not ice climbing as they scale up the 8,000 metre-high mountain. The NTUC Club has raised over S$25,000 for the trek. Part of the expedition will include a stop-over at the remote village of Thogel in Askola, Pakistan, to deliver stationery and furniture to poor school children. They will also be teaching the children the correct method of brushing their teeth. The organising committee had earlier visited the village to find out its needs, and intends to make community service a long-term project. "We saw this in 2001 when we went and I asked the Head Master, 'How do the children survive in the winter?' She said, 'Sir, we've got to survive, because of the thirst for education'. So that really pricked us a bit. "So we thought that one way is to refurbish the school, and we're also supplementing them with tables and chairs. And with the support of Lee Foundation, NTUC Club is also sponsoring an English teacher, to teach them English for one year in this school," says Yusof Lateef, NTUC K2 Challenge - Concordia Trek 2007, Organising Committee, NTUC Club Sports and Wellness Department. - CNA/yy |
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