Climbing one of the highest peaks like Mt Kilimanjaro is one of the herculean and dangerous missions in the world. To be able to put in great efforts to climb the peaks is such a great thing and the 32-year-old Neeraj George Baby, hailing from Aluva in Kerala has conquered one of the tallest peaks in Africa. He is quite obsessed about fulfilling his wish list one by one.
What makes his journey even more inspiring is that he has conquered Mount Kilimanjaro with one leg. On Thursday, Neeraj had posted a photo of himself on top of Kilimanjaro while firmly holding his crutches high.
“That’s a memorable moment in my life, a five-year-old dream achieved with a lot of pain only for a reason, Wanted to prove that differently-abled without prosthetic limbs can be free to their mind as they wish, whether you charge with GST and tax we can live our dream!,” Neeraj wrote on Facebook.
Neeraj planned to fulfil his dream on October 7 with an active team of adventurers and eventually accomplished the trek on Thursday.
His life took a turn in 1996 when he was 9 years old and was diagnosed with a tumour and had his leg amputated.
Despite losing his leg to cancer at such an early age, he first took up badminton to keep himself fit and gradually developed a penchant for the game. But he started taking it seriously and played para-badminton on national and international levels.
Neeraj also made his mark on the international circuit in 2007 after he went to Scotland to pursue studies.
In his first-ever outing at an international para-badminton event in Tel Aviv, Israel, Neeraj settled for bronze in doubles, which boosted his confidence levels.
Neeraj works as an assistant at the Kerala Advocate General’s Office and has taken part in several international competitions. He has plans to start an institute for para-badminton players.
Apart from being a sports lover, he is a nature lover too. He has conquered some of the highest and toughest treks in Kerala including Chembra Peak, Pakshipathalam, Ponmudi, Peechi, Ilanjippara Falls, Ilaveezhapoonchira, Illikkal Kallu, and Edakkal Caves.
In 2018, Neeraj scaled the Kottagudi peak in Munnar at an altitude of 7200 ft to see neelakurinji which is a rare flower that blooms only once in twelve years