Ravoof – Peter Van Geit and his fellow volunteers from CTC help clean up Chennai

Then it all stopped!

Or so it seemed. There was total silence in the Social sphere. As much activity there was during the floods, once the rains were over, there was less activity after. It did not mean people stopped helping. Everyone had to get on with their lives and start rebuilding.

But one forum kept popping up frequently in the absence of others. It was The Chennai Trekking Club. There were cleanup efforts throughout the city with volunteers from the club getting their hands dirty and trying to bring back Chennai to its feet.

The man responsible was/is Peter Van Geit, a Belgian who settled in Chennai in 1998. He has travelled extensively around Tamil Nadu during the first 2 years in Chennai. In 2008, he founded the Chennai Trekking Club as a non-profit volunteer based group of nature and trekking enthusiasts which organizes outdoor events during nearly all weekends of the year. The group has become one of the largest and most active outdoor communities in South India, encompassing 20.000 members and growing with 500 new members each month. Outdoor activities including easy 1-day, moderate and difficult multi-day treks, cycling, biking, outings, photography, workshops, ladies, kids & family treks, social initiatives, environment & conservation drives, swimming, marathons and triathlons.

Peter Van Geit and his fellow volunteers from The Chennai Trekking Club help clean up Chennai after deadly rain and flooding!