It was quite exhilarating to listen to the first person who had walked to both the poles sharing his experience with us. The sacrifices he had endured would have broken down a normal human being, but here is a person who is steel willed with a never-die attitude, who has decided to clean up Antarctica and contribute his best for the only continent that no one owns. The Hall was transfixed when Mr. Robert Charles Swan explained about how as an 11 year old he was inspired by a black and white movie in which explorers were travelling to the Antarctica. He was teased and discouraged when he shared his dreams with the others. But seven years later he was amazed at the fact that he was standing on the continent which contained 90% of all the ice on the planet and 70% of the world’s fresh water.
His ecstasy knew no bounds when he managed to reach South Pole in spite of all the pain caused by the travelling of such a vast distance on foot, and in such inhospitable weather condition including passing by an area where the Ozone layer had been depleted, which caused blisters on his face and his eye colour to change within 70 days.
North Pole – The picture of Mr. Robert Swan walking on Ice, fully aware that there is no land beneath and it could give way any minute, gave us shivers. His experience of enduring the extreme weather of minus 60 degree Celsiusto minus 70 degree Celsius in which even sweat would turn to ice and parts of the body would fall off if exposed did send a chill down our spines . It was an incredible fact that he had to withstand this condition for 56 long tough days throughout his travel from arctic to South Pole!
It was Mr. Jacques Cousteau who inspired Mr. Robert Swan to take up the 50 years mission to clean up Antarctica, starting from 1991, by gathering Students, Teachers, Professionals, Business Men and likeminded from all over the world. And to this day Mr. Robert Swan has whole heartedly taken up this mission which he named “2041The Climate Force” and expects to reach its logical conclusion.The determination of Mr. Robert Swan to travel once again to the South pole on 15 Nov 2017 along with his son Barney, using only renewable energy is itself a testimony to the courage and brave spirit which he still holds on to. This journey will be for a distance of 600 miles which they would be covering on feet.
The thrilling, uplifting and stimulating experiences of Mr. Robert Swan seemed like a well-crafted Hollywood movie. His speeches foster courage, vision and teamwork. It is a story which will remain etched in each of the participant’s soul for the rest of their life time. He, in fact, taught us the futility of waiting for a savior to save our planet. In his words, “The greatest threat to our Planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” His core themes are inspiration, leadership and future thinking for business, society and the environment.
The chosen ones to listen to this enthralling experience were 5 girls from grade 8 and 5 boys from grade 7.
1. AKSHITHA KANNA
2. AINISHA MILIND KOLEKAR
3. KHUSHI SANJEEV KUMAR
4. MEENAKSH SUBASH
5. SANJANA ARULMUGAN
6. ARAVIND SARATH CHANDRAN
7. HARIKRISHNAN KRISHNAKUMAR
8. KASINATH ANIL
9. KUNAL TIWARI
10.MERVIN THOMAS
Ms. Janarajani Malalagama and Ms. Usha Kumari were the teachers who accompanied them.
Here are the thoughts of some of the students:
” A DORMANT SPARK IN US WAS KINDLED BY THE INSPIRED AND AUDACIOUS ROBERT SWAN “, MEENAKSHI SUBHASH, AGE : 13
“As a huge beach is formed by a single particle of sand, Robert Swan is trying to save the planet and we should also lend a hand ! “
” Dora the reel explorer, Swan the real explorer !!! ”
” Exploring new things you should not resist, because things that are impossible do not exist .”
” The one who walks on others footsteps is a traveller, Robert Swan, the one who finds his own path and walks, an explorer.”
” Successful explorers are known to the world as a whole, one such is Robert Swan who has walked to the north and south pole. “
AKSHITA KANNA, AGE: 13
“The person who achieved beyond the bounds of possibility by travelling to both poles by foot, is none other than the brave person named Robert Swan”.
“One of the persons in the world who achieved his destiny with bravery and courage should be Robert Swan”.
“His inspirational thoughts would stimulate anyone’s mind to achieve far beyond their destiny”.
SANJANA. A, Age: 13
“By surviving in Antarctica on solar and wind energy for 60 days Robert swan has proved to the rest of the world that the nature has enough resources even in the worst climatic conditions”
“The right use of available resources is the best way to protect our planet”.
Aravind Sarath Chandra, Age: 13
Thank you Roots & Shoots for inviting us!!
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