Kent double-amputee army veteran receives MBE in King's Birthday Honours list

Hari Budha Magar, who lives in Canterbury, Kent, became the first double above-the-knee amputee (DAK) to reach the summit of Mount Everest at 8,849m in 2023. Credit: PA images

A Gurkha veteran who lost both legs serving in Afghanistan has been made an MBE, recognising his “lifetime mission” to change perceptions of people with disabilities.

Hari Budha Magar, who lives in Canterbury, Kent, became the first double above-the-knee amputee (DAK) to reach the summit of Mount Everest at 8,849m in 2023.

The 44-year-old has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to disability awareness.

Mr Budha Magar said: “I’m delighted and honoured to be recognised for work I (am) doing.

“I’m here to send a positive message around the world. This is my aim… something of hope and optimism.”

Hari Budha Magar and his team at Everest base camp Credit: Hari Budha Magar

Mr Budha Magar successfully campaigned to the Supreme Court in Nepal to overturn a ban on people with disabilities climbing Everest in 2018, before making mountaineering history himself in 2023.

“We’re doing lots of research and developments at the moment and I hope that our future generations of DAK will benefit,” he said.

After becoming an MBE, Mr Budha Magar travelled to Alaska where he plans to summit Mount Denali.

Mr Budha Magar said: “This is the first time ever I think a double above-knee amputee is attempting that mountain and... to show that people with disabilities, we can do something, we are capable to do, live, like other people, we can live a successful and meaningful life and happy life.”

He is also currently fundraising for a target of £884,900 – the height of Everest “plus two 00s” for five charities close to his heart that supported him since losing his legs.

Prosthetic legs had to be specifically designed for Mr Budha Magar because no legs for climbing mountains existed for DAK amputees. Credit: Sway PR

The father-of-three joined the Royal Gurkha Rifles at the age of 19 and while serving in Afghanistan he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) and lost both legs in 2010.

He said growing up in Nepal people with disabilities were seen as a “burden of the earth” and disability was perceived as a sin from previous lives.

“When I lost my legs, I thought my life is finished,” he said.

“I really wasted my time, about two years of my time, just not knowing what to do and just getting depressed and trying to take my life.

“I think if I was aware of disability then I didn’t have to go through all of this. I wasn’t very educated and aware. So now my aim is to just climb the mountain and (raise) awareness of disability as much as I can.”

Mr Budha Magar believes things have come “some way” in progress in disability awareness among people with disabilities but also society at large, but there still remains “a long way to go”.

“Just me being myself, I can do so much, right?” he said.

“This is why I’m supporting disabled people around the world to do whatever they like to do so that we can make our world a slightly better place for people with a disability but also for their families.”

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