Roy Clark: Adventure Story

I first visited India in 2009 which, for me, was more about riding a motorbike somewhere different than it was about meeting new people. The trip changed my outlook on life, I met people that had very little but were insistent on sharing what they did have with me. The children were happy and didn't need the trappings of modern life, such as phones and computers, that many people need to be happy with life.

During my various trips to India since then I have met many, many people and there is one particular person that always sticks in my head. During my first trip, I met a group of about 30 children in a little town and spent some time with them. They all wanted to shake my hand and have their photo taken so they could see it on the screen. One girl kept coming back up to the front of the group with a different friend each time to say hi and get a picture taken. She had a wonderful smile and was so excited to see her photo that she wanted to share it with all her friends!

I decided to use my future trips as a way of helping to support others and am proud to have been involved in the great work that Adventure Ashram does. I always see the health and education work that we do as a way of "changing a generation'. By helping to support one child at a time, this ensures that you change that child's life for ever but also improve the life and outlook of their future partners and children. On top of that they also support their extended family (parents, grandparents, siblings,etc) and all of a sudden supporting one child has enabled them to help ALL of their family. It still surprises me that so much can be achieved by so little support.

Along the way, I have made some lifelong friends who cover the globe and it now feels that I really am Adventuring with Purpose.....

Top Tip: Make sure to take every opportunity that you come across. It is better to experience something than to wonder what could have been.