Aspi Moddie Welfare Fund
Aspi Moddie was one of the Himalayan Club’s oldest members (since 1949); he was its first real Indian President, a man who loved and nurtured the Club. At the time of his death at the age of 92, he was the eldest, the longest and most respected serving member of the Club, covering a period of 65 years. In his passing in 2014 the Club lost its friend, philosopher and guide.
The Moddie family and The Himalayan Club have decided to institute an Aspi Moddie Welfare Fund (AMWF) in his memory which will be funded by the Moddie family and managed by the Himalayan Club.
While the Himalayan Club will manage the Fund, the recommendations of The Himalayan Club regarding the beneficiary (ies), together with the recommended Grant(s) from the Fund, and the purpose for which it is being awarded will be communicated to the Moddie family before finalization.
A corpus of Rs. 5,00,000/- has been set up and the annual interest from this fund will be donated to a deserving family of a support staff who has lost his life or means of livelihood due to an accident on the mountains or a mountain village or community that has been affected by natural disaster. The amount of money to be awarded is at the discretion of the Managing Committee of the Himalayan Club in consultation with the Moddie family.
Selection Criteria
There will be one / more than one donation per year, given to a community, family or a person fulfilling the following criteria:
- An Indian citizen including Sherpas, porters, cooks, muleteers, guides, villagers etc. who have served / worked for expeditions (Indian or foreign or joint teams) and has met with an accident on the job will qualify to be considered for this assistance. In case of death, a family member can also qualify for assistance.
- Schemes to create livelihood opportunities such as alternate means of livelihood to injured support staff; training of such people’s children in livelihood such as tourist / trekking guides, computer training courses, basic and advanced mountaineering courses etc.
- Participation in rebuilding homes, schools, villages, trails etc. of those communities struck by natural disasters
The assistance rendered will be in the form of financial relief, education, health/ medical treatment, rebuilding assistance.
Methodology
Any expedition or community leader or organisation can recommend a support staff or family or community for availing benefits with detailed reasons for doing so. A full bio-data of the person and past expeditions may be attached. The awardee will be selected by the Managing Committee after studying the applications received.
The period of consideration for any given year will be the financial year.
The decision of the Managing Committee will be final and binding. The MC also reserves the right to carry forward the fund if there is no deserving candidate in any given year.
Submissions
To apply for assistance under the said fund, application should be made as under:
- Name of Person / Family / Community / Village nominated with full address, age and any other details.
- Details on the region.
- Reasons for application for assistance.
- What assistance is expected by the applicant – health / livelihood / education / rebuilding / welfare etc.
Kindly forward all papers to Hon. Secretary, The Himalayan Club at the office address.