Ascend Pakistan: Leadership through Athletics

We offer public treks & climbs to fund our community programs. Ascend: Leadership Through Athletics (Pakistan)

Ascend has been serving young women since 2014. Our proudest achievement is seeing our program graduates transform their lives through education; nearly all Ascend graduates have gone on to university studies. Most of them come from families where their parents are not literate, so these girls are breaking barriers in a profound way. We use mountain climbing to build confidence and strength. Some of our girls have accomplished significant climbing feats. The program uses mountain climbing as a vehicle to cultivate unity and a sense of shared achievement among women of different ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic groups. Team members are challenged to overcome stereotypes and biases and work together to achieve a difficult but tangible goal. The unique attributes of mountain climbing make it an ideal sport for developing strong teams; remote settings far from the distractions of everyday life allow us to create a secure environment in which team members can bond. The nature of mountaineering requires discipline and precision, and each member of the group relies on the others for her safety. This environment fosters a camaraderie rarely experienced in a culture where women have little opportunity to build relationships with one another outside of the family structure, or beyond their own socioeconomic or ethnic background. Training includes a blend of physical (fitness and technical) training along with formal instruction in conflict resolution, leadership, and psychology. The program inspires other women with an example of unity and athletic achievement at a time of widespread anxiety about the future. Such a straightforward, universally understood achievement as reaching a mountain peak pushes the bounds of belief in what women are capable of doing and sets an example for young people in Pakistan and beyond.