Srinagar cyclist on 4,500 km trip to raise funds for young footballers in Pune

The entrepreneur from Srinagar is hoping to bring in Rs 3,000 through CSR and crowd funding for every kilometer he completes.

Salwat Hamrah has cycled through six states and three Union Territories, covering approximately 2,500 km since March 1. With his sights set on four more states, Hamrah still has another 2,000 km to pedal.

The entrepreneur from Srinagar is hoping to bring in Rs 3,000 through CSR and crowd funding for every kilometer he completes. The entire proceeds will be used to help underprivileged children in Pune realise their dream of playing professional football.

The children are currently in the care of The Potter’s Earth Foundation, which runs The Wonder School in Pune.

Saurabh Sharma, Director, Legal, Commercial & Partnerships, The Wonder School, said: “The children, who are in Class X, have been playing football for the almost four years and are a part of various clubs. The two girls are also prospects for the national under-17 team. This group is being coached at an academy run by Ryan Roy Shah, Director of Sports at The Wonder School. After Ryan came on board The Wonder School, he told the management about these children and their situation. He was wondering if something could be done for them. The school decided to support the education and training of the children. One of the Directors of The Potters Earth Foundation reached out to Hamrah and requested him to take up the cause of raising money for these children through his cycling expedition.”

The cycling initiative is a part of Hamrah’s endeavour, titled “Hope Monk – K2K”, which promotes a healthy lifestyle that pushes one’s mental and physical limits, while also giving back to society. “The Covid second wave has come as a surprise in the tour. We prefer to stop at small cities instead of the big ones. Our route is getting changed due to the pandemic and we are trying all permutations and combinations of all resources and current situations that we have,” said Hamrah.

Hamrah still has Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to cover, all states with high Covid positivity rates.

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