The first ever trans-expedition to be flagged off next month

The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams and this implies to every single human being on the Earth. To prove to the world that 'Gender' cannot determine how much you can succeed, people from the transgender community are all set to embark on a journey to create a world record in the history of the trans community. “Gender is after all, just Gender,” states Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, project patron and face of LGBTQ community. Speaking to Socio Story on the first ever trans expedition called ‘Project JOSH’, Laxmi, said, “A group of 25 trans persons are set to embark on Mt Friendship expedition, a high-altitude trekking peak (5289 meters) in Himachal Pradesh. This expedition is an official attempt to set a record in the Guinness World Records and Limca book of Records.” Out of curiosity, I asked Laxmi, “What made you take up this initiative?” On answering the question, Laxmi said, “I received a call from Ratnesh Pandey, an Indian mountaineer to join for an expedition. I told him that I will join but with my team. He agreed and this is how it started. When we shared about the expedition in our community, they were all so excited and felt like free birds. This will give them an opportunity to explore as well as open up to the outside world.” So, the preparation started with Aryan Pasha, India’s first trans man bodybuilder taking the lead and motivating the team of 15 transmen and 10 transwomen from different parts of the country to start their rigorous training for the expedition. The participants are being trained on various activities at their respective cities from the past 45 days. The 12-15 days expedition is set to begin on October 3, 2020. Manish Jain, Director of Kineer services Pvt Ltd, said that the trans community, through this expedition, will spread a message on ‘Stand again-Unite again-Fight again and Win again. This event aims at promoting physical fitness and good health for all where transgenders from all walks of life would be joining in Project Josh. “Sportsmanship is not about being a male or female, but being a human. It is beyond gender. It is about creating opportunities and tapping the potential from each one of us,” stated Laxmi adding that this attempt of the trans community will break barriers and gender stereotypes. “I love mountains and I am a devotee of Lord Shiva. I believe that the Abode of Shiva is on the peak of the mountains. Hence, this expedition serves the purpose for my community,” concluded Laxmi by adding that the greatest achievement will be when the world will get to know about 25 unheard stories of trans people.