On Sunday, May 25th, 2014, India's Malavath Poorna, became the youngest female to climb to the summit of the world's highest peak—Mount Everest. The 13-year-old girl surpassed (超越) the previous record holder, Nepal's Nima Chemji Sherpa, who accomplished the same achievement in 2012, at the age of 16.
Unlike many young climbers who come from wealthy families, Malavath comes from a poor farming family living in a small village named Pakala in southern India.
Most Pakala girls have never seen the inside of a school all their lives. Malavath is one of the fortunate ones that managed to realize their dreams thanks to Swaeroes, a welfare organization whose mission is to help India's poor children reach their full potential. They helped enroll (使入学) the young girl in a nearby boarding school. Then about nine months ago, Swaeroes provided her with the opportunity to achieve this dream by offering mountaineering training. Not one to pass up (错过) an exciting adventure, the athletic girl signed up.
At the end of the two-week period, only two youngsters were selected for the dangerous climb—Malavath was one of them!
Then came the big day. On April 15th, 2014, Malavath and 16-year-old Anand Kumar along with their guide Shekhar Babu and a team of Sherpas (夏尔巴人) began the dangerous 8,848-meter trek (艰苦跋涉). While most climbers attempt the peak from the slightly easier Nepalese side, this team had to go via the harder Tibetan side. That's because the government of Nepal does not allow anyone younger than 16 to climb up the route.
It was not easy. In fact, Malavath was sent back to the base camp after she experienced altitude sickness when she got to the advanced base camp set up at an altitude of 6,400 meters. However, the youngster returned three days later, and insisted on continuing. It took 52 days, but on May 25th, 2014, Malavath, who made it to the summit a few minutes ahead of 16-year-old Anand, proudly raised her country's flag at the top of the world. The young girl hopes that her achievements will inspire poor girls all over the world to try to achieve their dreams.
