Dubai: The world of extreme sports may run out of challenges but the iron resolve of flight attendant-turned-charity worker Maria Conceicao who has pledged to help impoverished slum children in Dhaka will remain.
Conceicao is the founder of Maria Cristina Foundation (MCF), a non-profit organisation that helps to fight poverty in the slums of Dhaka by giving premium education to children and giving job opportunities to their parents.
The foundation operates under the patronage of Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister for Culture, Youth and Community Development, who provides visa sponsorships for the children and their parents as they start their lives anew in Dubai.
“To be honest I would swim the five oceans if that meant I could lift my kids out of poverty or would go to Mars if there was a return ticket,” Conceicao told Gulf News, referring to the 600 slum children enrolled at MCF in Dhaka and in some schools in Dubai.
From an ordinary mother in 2010, Conceicaio has transformed into an extraordinary woman of strength, scaling peaks all over the world and doing extreme adventure sports for charity.
Conceicao successfully scaled Mt Kilimanjaro in 2010. She trekked the North Pole in 2011, climbed Mt Elbrus in August of the same year, and in December completed the 777 Challenge, a marathon across the seven emirates in seven days.
In 2012, she reached the peak of Mt Denali and then summited Mt Aconcagua in January 2013. Four months later, Conceicao stood on top of the world at the summit of Mt Everest.
All the challenges promised and delivered donations directly to the children’s cause. The Mt Everest climb alone encouraged a school to donate scholarships for a batch of children for six years, worth up to $1 million. But the school backed out at the last minute.
“Life does not stop and no matter how many people back out on me, I have a mission that I have to complete all the way until the end,” she said.
Conceicao said the foundation has had difficulty in getting sponsors for the past two years due to the credit crunch. But she is hoping that as Dubai soars again, this would change in the next few months.
“I’m determined to achieve my goal of ensuring every last child enrolled under MCF is either employed or sent to university and will not stop my efforts until this is complete. Our last child completes 18 years in 2023.”
Conceicao’s grim determination has inspired a dozen others as well. Barely three months after her Everest climb, Conceicao is training again this time with volunteers Sharon De Sousa and her daughter, Kristen.
The trio will test their limits for the extremely difficult 777, a seven-marathon challenge across seven continents in seven days. The challenge begins on November 26 and ends in Abu Dhabi on December 2 in time for the celebration of the UAE’s 42nd National Day.
“I realised that we are extremely fortunate to live the lives we do and that others are not as fortunate. By doing extreme challenges, it creates awareness for the Maria Cristina Foundation,” Sharon told Gulf News.
Kristine, who is only 15 years old, said that the fact that she lives a privileged life and that others don’t drives her to do the challenge. “I would like for people who have a roof over their head, clothes on their back and food to eat to realise that they’re very privileged to lead the life they do, to be grateful and to donate towards the charity so the kids are able to lead a better lifestyle.”
