17000 ft Foundation
17000 ft Foundation is a Not for Profit focused on improving lives of people living in remote mountainous hamlets that lie isolated and neglected due to harsh terrain. Their mission is to draw attention to these ancient communities, provide them with support and resources to lead better lives, thereby preserving their culture and slowing their desperate exodus to faraway cities. Their programs seek to improve education, empower youth and generate livelihood opportunities for its people. The Foundation's work today spans the entire geographical region of Ladakh, one of the toughest inhabited mountainous terrains of the world.
Participant Profile: Sujata Sahu (Founder and Director)
A techie by profession, Sujata worked for 12 years in Corporate IT in India and the U.S. before she decided to move back to India 2002. Over the next few years, Sujata held multiple roles working with children, as a facilitator, and as a teacher in one of India’s leading private schools. She finally chose to work with children in remote and forgotten areas, after a particularly difficult solo trek in Ladakh. Sujata is the passion behind the Foundation, and the backbone behind 17000 ft’s educational initiatives. When not teaching in remote schools in Ladakh, Sujata is travelling the country, carrying the story of the region and its people to the outside world, a crusader for the rights of forgotten tribes of remote Himalayan regions.