The all-woman team during the Thar Desert expedition in January 2007. Some of the members, who are heading to Kilimanjaro, were part of the Thar expedition. Telegraph picture

Jamshedpur, June 15: Homemakers’ significance has spread beyond the boundary of homes — and how! Five caring women are set to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. And supporting hubbies have made their life easier.

Meet Sushma Bissa, one of the homemakers on the mission to Tanzania. Her husband — Magan — will take care of daily chores at her home while she will be busy conquering the mountain.

Sushma, a 43-year-old Bikaner-based homemaker, said: “My husband will take care of our sons. He’ll manage the snacks.”

Magan, himself a mountaineer and earlier associated with Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF), knows how important it is to achieve the feat. “In fact, I’ve pushed my wife, as I wanted her to feel the thrill. I’ve always guided her and taken care of things at home in Sushma’s absence,” added Magan, who has participated in Everest expeditions thrice.

Sushma had been to Delhi this week for yellow fever vaccination, mandatory before the trip. “The team will assemble in Jamshedpur on June 16,” said the caring mom over phone.

Besides Sushma, four others of her ilk — L. Annapurna, Premlata Agarwal, Chetna Sahu and Gangotri Mehta — are part of the 10-member all-woman outfit that would climb Mount Kilimanjaro under the guidance of ace mountaineer Bachendri Pal.

Annapurna, a resident of Jamshedpur and an instructor of TSAF, also said that her husband would manage things at home during her absence. “Being an instructor I have to remain outdoors a lot. I have a superb understanding with my husband. He’ll look after our six-year-old daughter. In fact, he’s quite experienced at that,” the 39-year-old added.

Shiv Prasad, a national-level kabaddi player and the husband of Annapurna, said he has to adjust with the situation at home when his wife is away.

Premlata, who’s also from the steel city, said that the support of husbands come in handy in these situations. Her husband is a journalist.

Chetna, who recently shifted base from Jamshedpur to Calcutta, is busy with the admission of her son at present. She headed to Calcutta from camp at Uttarkashi to settle things at home before joining her teammates here.

Her husband, Pradeep Chandra Sahoo, had always been co-operative whenever she wanted go on an adventure, she said.

But the situation with Gangotri is different. She’ll have to leave one of her sons with her maidservant. “One of my sons (17) is leaving for United States to pursue his studies. So, I have asked my maidservant to take care of my younger ward, who’s 15,” she said over phone from Baroda.