Inspirational lecture on resilience and challenge delivered by leading Omani and British explorers

Muscat 

An inspiring lecture entitled ‘Two Women, Two Poles and Two Cultures’ was delivered recently at The Ministry of Defence Pension Fund, under the auspices of His Highness Dr Ahmed Al Saidi, Minister of Health.

The event, supported by Addleshaw and Goddard, Bondoni and The Ministry of Defence Pension Fund, saw a large crowd inspired by two extraordinary people who had set themselves extreme psychological and physical challenges to travel in some of the most hostile and inhospitable places on planet earth, and attempt to reach the North and South Poles. In January 2018, British female explorer Major Natalie Taylor was part of a team of six soldiers to become the first all-female expedition to cross Antarctica on foot. Their journey took 62 days, in temperatures that dropped to minus 40 degrees Celsius. In winds that rose to speeds in-excess of 60 miles per hour, the team, using only skis and muscle power, hauled sledges weighing 80kg that carried their food and survival equipment.

Three months later, Anisa Al Raisi, an instructor with Outward Bound Oman flew to the opposite end of the earth, and joined an all-female Euro-Arabian team attempting to reach the North Pole. Hauling sledges over the ice each day, and once again travelling on ski and by muscle power, conditions in the Arctic were no less challenging than in Antarctica. Despite temperatures also falling to minus 40 degrees, global warming means thinner, shifting sea ice, and each day the team travelled and slept on a thin layer of moving, frozen ocean, and faced the constant threat of predatory polar bears, and the risk of the ice cracking beneath them.

Both journeys sent strong messages about teamwork, leadership and resilience, and the capacity of women to operate in challenging environments. The speakers shared their experiences of living in confined spaces, their mental and physical preparations, and the strategies they used for dealing with constantly changing and evolving challenges, describing themselves as ‘ordinary women doing extraordinary things’.

Al Raisi said ‘this experience was the result of turning a dream into reality, something that required a great deal of hard work, time and effort. I have to thank the team at Omantel and Bondoni for the support that enabled me to represent Oman, and I hope, in my job with Outward Bound Oman, that I can now use my experience to inspire other Omani’s, both young people in schools and colleges, and corporate employees, to believe that they, like me, are capable of overcoming fears and self-doubt to achieve great things in their lives, and at work’.     

Both women hope their historic achievements will encourage other women and girls to take on physical challenges and achieve things out of their comfort zone.

The evening concluded with Al Raisi inviting the audience to help her build a team of talented and motivated Omani female achievers and join her on a challenging four-day Outward Bound Oman course in the Sharqiya Sands this coming winter. The course, that will be generously sponsored by Bondoni, will be led by Al Raisi. Interested applicants should contact Anisa Al Raisi at admin@outwardboundoman.com before November 11^th 2018.

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© Press Release 2018