New York To Mumbai

We started filling up multiple spread sheets deciding our route. Every new development, research and piece of information started changing our way to Mumbai.

The starting point is fixed (New York) and our final destination is fixed (Mumbai). The rest is to be decided. The plan is to fly from New York to London and then start driving from London across land borders to Mumbai.

The safety, uncertainty of borders, costs, visa requirements, road conditions are the factors which kept changing our routes very frequently. 

The original proposed plan was:

UK - France - Germany - Austria - Hungary - Romania - Bulgaria - Turkey - Georgia - Azerbaijan - Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan - China - Nepal - India

We found out that the Nepal border is currently closed due to the earthquake in 2015. So entering India from Myanmar is our next option.

Chinese travel agencies suggested avoiding Tibet and entering from the Mongolian border into China and then going south to Myanmar. This can reduce paper work and costs involved, but that also means taking a complete deroute to get to India and many more days on the road.

We contemplated the safety situation in Turkey and also the predictability of crossing the Caspian Sea by Cargo Ship. It involved more time at border crossings and shipping the car. So we decided to go through Russia.

Once in Russia, we  decided to go from St. Petersburg down south to Sochi. Since Sochi was the host city for 2014 winter Olympics we expect that it will have better roads  there. We planned to enter Georgia from Sochi and then continue to Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Reading more about Georgia-Russia relations, we think passing by that border will increase the uncertainties. Passing through Turkmenistan and  Azerbaijan involves more Visas.

So our final decided route (up to now!) is US- UK - France - Switzerland - Germany - Poland - Lithuania - Latvia - Estonia - Russia - Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan - China - Myanmar - India. 

I think route is a very dynamic thing and it keeps changing with more research. We simply hope to reach Mumbai.

We started brain-storming on what to name the project. We did not think such a simple looking task could be so difficult. The name had to be something which reflects the purpose and our beliefs, yet simple and gripping. We knew we had adventure and charity coming together in the project.
The list of ideas and names were exhaustive.
To list a few of them-
1. Ojas: A word of Sanskrit origin which means splendor, vitality and vigor. It could best describe the energy and the spirit of our team to move many miles for the passion of charity and adventure.
2. Project RAY: Raising awareness amongst youth : We are a group of young people pursuing a project which the youth can relate to and hence the RAY. We are a ray from the entire sunshine trying to reach the masses creating a Ray of hope in peoples lives.
3. Ammonite: Ammonite is the fossil of a marine animal which is found in the Himalayas at the peak thus showing that the mountains were originally submerged under water. Thus a word which relates to finding one's own roots.
4. Project ACE (Adventure Charity Explore): This option is an acronym for what we believe in.
5. Project Drive: The drive within us leading us to drive 10,000+ miles.
6. Project Light: Light (as in traffic light), because before we start a journey we can not wait for all the lights on our way to be green. There are many obstacles in the way and they will eventually turn green once we start moving. Also the traffic light is a symbol for driving.

We asked our opinions from friends and family and received various suggestions. Some tried to focus on the beliefs, some tried to be more catchy and appealing, some had a deeper meaning associated with the name.
Some of the names suggested were Project DISHA (meaning direction), Project Kaizen (meaning constant improvement), Project Horn- Ok -Please (a common written statement behind Indian trucks), Speed breakers ahead, Bumps, PATH, I4India, RAVI (meaning SUN), Project YES etc.

It was a fun discussion and great to have creative inputs from people.We emailed, messaged and talked to friends and took an opinion poll on the names. The name which received maximum votes and which we all loved was:

'PROJECT SPARK'.

Spark is created when two objects strike against each other. Here we have adventure coming in confluence with the idea of charity and thus creating the Spark. It is the Spark within us which inspires us to take up the journey.

So 'Project Spark' it is !

A family friend Suryakant Shah introduced us to a couple Aparna and Pankaj Kadikar, who presently live in Dharampur, Valsad, Gujarat India. This couple of Indian origin lived in Los Angeles, US and worked as Architect and Investment banker. At age 45 they made a decision to move back to India and opened a residential school for tribal girls in a small district of Gujarat, India.
They saw that problems facing girls education were:
1. Lack of schools: The educational facilities available are very scarce, offering negligible quality education and any existing ones are located in distant areas. Hostel facilities are rare in those places.
2. Gender inequality: Even today the girl child does not get the same importance and emphasis to education in tribal communities of Dharampur and Dang districts due to social reasons.
3. Poverty and Deprivation: Lots of families live under the poverty line. This forces girls to child labour and taking care of siblings. The essential health care, living conditions and food necessities are barely met, so spending money for the education of girls is an unnecessary expense.

Aparna and Pankaj opened up a school with residential facilities free of cost for these girls in grade 8 to grade 12. The focus of education was quality of education and holistic development of these girls. Along with academic education, vocational training and environmental education, hygiene and sanitation training is imparted to these girls. Education and training is driven to make them self independent and economically stable.

The initial few years  were full of challenges for Pankaj and Aparna. They went door to door convincing parents in the tribal district to send their girls to Kedi School. Now in its 10th year, the school is running successfully as the community has seen the difference in their daughters and overall progress in their families. There are around 100 girls presently in the school with a staff of 10-12 teachers.
Kunal, Shrida and  I really liked the cause. We were really impressed by Aparna and Pankaj's work. The change they are bringing about by working at the root level is really commendable. I thought to myself, may be I will like to do something similar in my later life.

Kedi school is coming up with a new project for scholarship programs for girls after 12th grade. We decided to raise awareness and funds for this efforts.