Meena, Rupa, Richa, Sapna, Nikki, Rena, Amrisha, Pooja & Ishan are delighted to announce their forthcoming event, OKA Group Skydive:             

Post Event Update 

17 Aug 2016, Richa Verma

The day dawned and it was time for a usually sensible motley bunch to jump out of a perfectly good plane at 12,000 feet. 

The motivation for this madness was raising money for One Kind Act. In keeping with OKA's ethos we paid for our own tandem skydives so all money donated would go directly to the needy. Sponsorship surpassed expectations with over £5000 raised. We were delighted but there was also no turning back now.

We arrived in Cambridgeshire on a warm but cloudy morning and without a second thought signed our lives away on the disclaimer forms.

Having been told we would probably be waiting over four hours, we settled down to eat and chat.  Impending terror and fear of life situations, we later realised, leads to some interesting, very open discussions.  Chatham house rules apply though and no more will be said!

Training was a brief 10 minutes and prompted one keen observer to comment the parachute harnesses hanging on the ceiling belonged more in a BDSM dungeon.  Cue further interesting discussion.

And then it was time.  Wear jumpsuit, meet instructor you would be strapped to, hope he smelt nice, put on unflattering cap, say a prayer as instructed by elders, take pictures conscious of unflattering cap, climb into rickety little plane, tell yourself to be in the moment and not think ahead to why you were sitting on floor of said plane.

We took off.  The real madness started with inane chit chat.  "I'm from North London".  "I work for the council actually".  "It’s been a nice warm day hasn't it?".

We were climbing to 12,000 feet to jump out and they were making quintessentially British, polite conversation.  Shouldn't they be asking if you remembered the parachute, what would we do if we got detached mid-air, have you made a will?  Clearly work was needed on stiffening my upper lip.

The door opened and the first lot fell out.  For those who have not experienced fellow passengers falling out of your plane, it is not recommended.  It makes the stomach lurch in new and unexpected ways.

Then we shuffled to the open door and I was sitting on the edge of possible destruction with my legs hanging out.  Every cell in my body, every instinct I had was screaming not to jump.  It goes against every primal survival instinct.

We fell out.  Then came accelerated free fall up to 120mph: fast, intense and all consuming.  In that moment, all of life, the world, the universe were in my body, my mind and emotions.  In a way, it reminded me of those lucid dreams you have when sleeping where you’re flying, but only better because this time it was real.  Later the others would agree it was the moment they would never forget; those 45 seconds of free fall through the skies.  It is an indescribable euphoria.

Our parachute opened and suddenly all became still and calm.  The ground beneath was clear with perfect visibility. I looked down, I looked into the horizon and felt so small. As we floated gently down to Earth I felt insignificant and utterly free.

To quote a friend on the day- "in the moment there really is a place which is so surreal and nothing matters but the way you feel "

In that moment you witness the glorious fullness of life. 

Unexpected things we learnt doing a skydive:

- clouds have a taste

- hundreds of baby spiders live in the airfield and love the smell of our hair

- God exists in free fall

- some land elegantly, some land on their face

- sometimes you can't hear yourself scream 

- doing something scary can paradoxically de-stress you

- you understand birds

Event Details 

One Kind Act's associate member Meena Dhawan has had "doing a skydive" on her bucket list for a long time. The time has now come and she is ready to do something about it.  What better impetus than to raise money for One Kind Act (OKA) with its ethos of living your life and having fun while making the world a better place. 

Her enthusiasm has been so infectious that 2 more associates and 6 supporters have signed up for the adventure in the hope of raising money for this worthy charity.

On Sunday 14 August 2016 Meena, Rupa, Richa, Sapna, Nikki, Rena, Amrisha, Pooja and Ishan will be driving up to the North London Skydiving Centre based in March, Cambridgeshire  for this exhilarating experience  for OKA.

Please sponsor them and give generously, even a couple of pounds can make a difference.  All proceeds will go into OKA’s current projects of caring for abandoned children in Africa, feeding neglected elderly people in India and feeding the homeless in London.

About One Kind Act

One Kind Act Changes Communities and lives of others globally who suffer as a result of Poverty of Health, Nutrition and Education and may have Fallen Through The Net of the larger charities. Learn More here