Jayanthi and Johann tell Uni students, “Yes you can”
Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala and Johann Peries, who pioneered the first ever Sri Lankan Everest Expedition two years ago shared their amazing story once again with local undergraduates of the University of Colombo.
The duo delivered a motivational talk earlier this week at the New Arts Theatre , University of Colombo as part of the first year orientation programme and will facilitate a series of events over the course of the year under the project titled ‘Surmounting. Mountain as metaphor’ initiated and organized by the Sri Lankan Federation of University Women (SLFUW).
Encouraging words: Johann Peries and Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala. Pix by Athula Devapriya
The event was jointly organised by Iranganie Bopearachchi and Delaine Weerakkody of SLFUW. The first programme of the project was inaugurated on December 7, at the University of Peradeniya with the participation of students and staff.
This project was inspired by the hope to empower female students in universities and to motivate the students in general to overcome hardships and to summit their personal ‘Everest’.
Jayanthi Kuru-Utumapala says that the most productive sessions have been with school and university students and that she and Johann are happy that the project gives them access to universities across the island.
At the event held at the Colombo University, Dr. Nirmali de Silva, President of the SLFUW explained how the students could gain inspiration from the real life story of Jayanthi and Johann. “We decided that Jayanthi and Johann would be the ideal persons to relate their experiences to university undergraduates who are the future of our country,” stated Dr. De Silva.
Jayanthi, she said, fits into the SLFUW as not only does she hold a Master’s Degree in Gender Studies, and a Bachelor’s in English, she is also currently working as a professional mountain climbing instructor and a goodwill ambassador for women’s rights in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs -an example for any female graduate.
Together Jayanthi and Johann took the students on a journey to Mount Everest through a detailed presentation, relating the experiences they faced thousands of feet above sea level. It took five years for them to plan the journey with constant training. “We had to work with what we had here. On weekends we used to run up and down Pidurutalagala,” says Johann. They flew to Kathmandu in March and were attached to the International Mountain Guides (IMG) company which had the best record for safety. Everest climbing is in fact a two month journey. Johann states that it is similar to the journey through university, “You face many challenges at the university. But one should not give up at the first turn. We should focus on the final goal.”
The Everest ascent comprises several stages, starting from the base camp at the foot of the mountain and thereafter camp 1, 2, 3, 4 and the summit. It was all about facing everyday challenges, team work, keeping up their strength, both physical and mental while adapting to conditions of extreme cold, less oxygen and minimum sanitary facilities. “We had to adapt to the setting. For the students who come from far away villages leaving their loved ones behind, university is a place of adaptation.”
Jayanthi’s life was completely changed in those high mountains. The deadline was 9 hours from camp 2 to3. Being the slowest in the team, Jayanthi was nervous and worried. Turning her worst nightmares to reality, she failed to reach the target on time and had to turn back to camp two while all the other climbers arrived at camp 3. Jayanthi remembers thinking inside her tent, “My journey would end here if I could not make it on time. People would look down upon me as the woman who could not stay at home, knitting, instead tried to climb mountains and failed.” For the first time Jayanthi remembered what Johann said, “you know J, it is all in your mind.” Charged by the sudden flash of memory, Jayanthi started to believe in herself and reached camp 3 in 8 hours and 30 minutes the next day.
At the point where with just 448 metres left to the Everest summit, Johann had to make one of the hardest decisions in his life. He ran out of oxygen. “My guide said you can go to the top but you cannot come back,” Johann says. So he gave up his life’s dream and turned back for the sake of his life and his loved ones. Concluding the talk he stated that he will be leaving again soon to finish what he started.
Making her final remarks, Jayanthi recalls her feelings at the peak of the world, quoting Sir Edmund Hillary (the first in the world to summit Everest), “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” She encouraged the students in believing ‘yes, I can’ and the importance of making the right decision at the right time just like Johann did.
| More about the programme | |
| The SLFUW will arrange programmes on ‘Surmounting.Mountain as metaphor’ at the universities of Ruhuna, Rajarata and Jaffna. The next event will be at the Kotelawala Defence University on March 2. For details on SLFUW membership and future programmes, call 0112682961 or log on to slfuw.org. |