Supporter Walks 241 Miles in the Salt March in India, Raising Money for the Global Fund Along the Way From March 12th to April 7th, long-time Global Fund donor and friend, Dorothy Abbott, participated in the 75th anniversary re-enactment of Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March, an international walk for peace, justice, and freedom across India. By encouraging friends and colleagues to pledge money for each mile of the March, Dorothy raised over $21,218 for the Women's Media Fund, a Global Fund Field of Interest Fund supporting the media projects of women's groups around the world. Photographed by Dorothy Abbott on her walk in India. In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi and his band of 78 marchers undertook one of the most inspiring events in the history of the Indian freedom movement. To help free Indian from British control, Gandhi proposed a nonviolent march protesting the British Salt Tax. The Salt Tax made it illegal to sell or produce salt, allowing a complete British monopoly. Since salt is necessary is everyone's diet, all people in India were affected. The Salt Tax made it illegal for workers to freely collect their own salt from the coasts of India, making them buy salt they couldn't afford. On April 5, 1930 Gandhi and his faithful "sartyagrahis" (name given by Gandhi to nonviolent resisters) reached the coast of the Indian Ocean. Prayers were offered and Gandhi picked up a tiny lump of salt, breaking the law. The Salt March started a series of protests. Within a month, Gandhi was arrested and thrown in a prison already full of fellow protestors. The world embraced the sartyagrahis and their civil disobedience, eventually enabling India to gain their freedom from Britain. Their Salt March - 241 miles in 24 days - continues to inspire people and movements around the world. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was deeply fascinated by the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, wrote, " I came to see that the Christian doctrine of love, operating through the Gandhian method of nonviolence, is one of the most potent weapons available to an oppressed people in their struggle for freedom." To commemorate this historic event on an international scale, the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation of India re-enacted the Salt March in honor of the 75th anniversary. In March, Dorothy Abbott travelled to India with her friend, Linda Ketley, to participate in this celebratory walk, which took place from March 12th to April 7th. It begin at Gandhi's Sabermati Ashram in Abmedabad and ended at the hamlet of Dandi on the Indian Ocean. For Dorothy's daily blog, please go to saltmarch.org.