OK, so this has nothing to do with Kerika, Lean, Agile or even software for that matter, but this is a great story that we can’t help but share with the world…

Bill Sowry is a Brigadier with the Australian Army, currently posted as Defense Attache in London.

He is 53 years old. And very fit. (This bit is important.)

Many years ago, he had a tour of duty in India: he joined a long tradition of Australian officers who were selected for specialized training at the Indian Army’s Defense Services Staff College, where his local “sponsor” officer was another up-and-coming officer: Major Mohit Whig of the 2/5 Gorkha Rifles.

Here’s what they looked like back then:

Bill had a great time in India and loved the time he spent with the Whig family — Mohit’s cheerful, amiable personality had survived years of front-line action in Sri Lanka, the Indian North-East, and Kashmir.

And Bill retained a fondness for India long after leaving its shores — as he said, “you can take the man out of India, but you can’t take India out of the man.”

In 1997, Mohit was killed by an IED in Kashmir: false information was fed to his unit that led to troops being sent into an ambush

Mohit was never one to “lead from behind”. His unarmored Jonga was at the head of the convoy and was blown up by a bomb.

When Mohit died, he left behind a widow and two young sons, one of whom was born with severe spina bifida, which has left him disabled for life.

And there the story might have ended.

OK, so some soldiers go on a mission in insurgent country. They get blown up. Happens all the time. No big deal.

But it didn’t, because Bill is not an ordinary soldier…

A couple of years ago, using Facebook he was able to get back in touch with Mohit’s family (Thanks, Mark Z!)  and learned that Mohit’s younger son needed some critical rehab treatment to give him more independence, especially as he grew to maturity.

This treatment was expensive (£25,000) and unavailable in India, so Bill resolved to raise money for sending Mohit’s son to Australia for rehab.

And he is doing this in a truly spectacular way: a minimum of 4 pushups for every Km. of the Tour de France.

Bill has already over 15,300 pushups over 3 weeks — yes, that’s hundreds of pushups each day!

OK, remember that bit about Bill being 53 years old?

Bill is raising money using the JustGiving site: he has 4 days to go, and a final £5,000 to raise in order to meet his goal.

We have been thrilled to help Bill, and invite you to help him get to the goal line!

Thanks.