A 13-year-old Indian tribal schoolgirl has become the youngest girl to climb Mount Everest. Malavath Poorna hoisted the Indian flag at the summit and also left a photograph of dalit leader BR Ambedkar there.
According to experts, her achievement is even more impressive as she climbed the peak from the more difficult Tibetan side. Most climbers attempt Everest from the Nepalese side, which is easier, but as Nepal does not allow climbers under 16 years of age to scale the world’s tallest mountain, Poorna had to climb from the tougher side. At 13 years and 11 months, she is just a month older than the world’s youngest Everest climber – American Jordan Romero who ascended the peak in 2010 when he was 13 years and 10 months. She was accompanied by Shekhar Babu, an experienced mountaineer, her friend Anand Kumar, a 16 year-old-boy from a poor family like hers, and a group of sherpas. Poorna’s parents work as agricultural labourers in a small tribal village in the state of Andhra Pradesh, and make about 35,000 rupees a year.
Overcoming all these obstacles, she reached ‘the top of the world’ and is an inspiration to people all around the world. Don’t you think?
Have a great week ahead!