Hari Budha Magar | No Legs No Limits
On Monday 23rd January 2023, Centre member Hari Budha Magar and ex- SAS Mountain leader Krish Thapa held talks at The Malthouse Theatre. They shared their incredible story to the King’s School pupils and general public on how they plan to conquer Everest this Spring.
Hari explained how he hit rock bottom after losing both his legs to an IED in Afghanistan, dealing with loss of confidence, PTSD and becoming alcohol dependent.
Determined to change perceptions of what is possible for people with a disability, Hari discussed how he was involved in lobbying officials in Nepal to overturn a ban on people with disabilities climbing Everest in 2018. His aim is to transform the way people with a disability are perceived, and how they perceive themselves.
Hari and Krish described their plans for the climb, including two extra camps and how their team will be starting the climb up Everest via the South Col route from Nepal. Hari uses three times more energy than the average climber, so the journey will take him three times as long.
On Wednesday 1st February 2023, Hari attended The Junior King’s School in Sturry and delivered a talk to the children during their assembly. Hari talked about his life, while serving with the Royal Gurka Rifles and how he stepped on an improvised explosive device on patrol in Afghanistan, which changed his life in a split second. He explained to the children that with time and determination, he regained his self-esteem, challenging himself from skydiving to kayaking and then turned his focus to mountaineering.
Hari’s message to the children was that you can do anything if work hard when it’s tough and no one is perfect, so be proud of who we are, where we come from and what we do! This message is fantastic and Hari truly inspired everyone and taught them to never give up and with a positive attitude and the right mindset, we can conquer our dreams. “What we think and do today, will define us tomorrow”.
