My name is Chris Parsons and I am a lawyer.
India has become a very special place to me and feels like my second home. Over the last 15 years I have visited the country over 150 times, spending time with clients, teaching at law schools and engaging in various social initiatives.
In 2011 I was able to raise $200,000 for the Loomba Foundation by cycling from London to Gibraltar. More recently to celebrate 30 years at my firm, Herbert Smith Freehills, I walked 30 marathons over 30 days across India and raised $300,000 for the same charity.
The Loomba Foundation is a charity that campaigns for widows rights around the world and runs programmes to help widows in India. Widows in rural locations in developing countries are treated very poorly after they lose their husbands. In addition to their grief, they are physically and mentally abused, robbed of their inheritance, socially ostracised and in some cases raped/sexually cleansed.
My latest challenge will be to cycle the length of India from Kanyakumari in the South to Srinagar in the North. I will be starting this challenge on Monday 3rd February 2020 and my aim is to cycle 4,500km over 45 days to raise $450,000.
Please support me by sponsoring me through JustGiving:
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-parsons40
You can also receive email alerts to monitor my progress in the lead up to the start date of 3 February 2020 and I will also be writing a daily blog for each of the 42 days of cycling. To sign up to receive email alerts please use the link below:
Cycling for Widows 2020 