Thank you my sponsors - We made it to the Antarctic

Caledonian College of Engineering, Omran, Oman Trading International and Dettol,

I made it to the Antarctic and I came back home safely by the grace of Allah.

It would have been a great loss if I couldn’t have made it and took this great step in my life. It would have been a huge speed bump that slows me down in achieving success. It would have been a dramatic failure to see a dream vanish before my eyes and doing nothing about it.

I made it and I’m proud to say it. It has become the biggest achievement in my life ever. Yet, it won’t be the last. All the things I did and the challenges I faced were worth it. I made it to the Antarctic, the last wilderness on earth and the place that must be left alone.

You made it with me. We made it together. Thank you for your support and for making it happen. I wouldn't have done it without your great encouragement and support. This sponsorship was not only for my journey to the Antarctic. In fact it has opened new opportunities and wider doors of contributions.

You sponsored my lifetime journey and made sure it was a successful one. You gave me the honor to represent my country in a No Man’s Land along with more than 22 other nations.

I'm privileged to be the first Omani women to go to the Antarctic and to come back with a great mission to preserve it, and eventually preserve planet earth.

The journey was fruitful and I learnt a lot from the 71team members, the 2041 team, the ship crew and all the people I met during my itinerary to the Antarctic and the way back home. I learnt about sustainability, climate change, green energy, the wildlife, the icebergs and leadership.

I participated in all the activities and was fortunate to not have fallen sick during any. Hiking glaciers in Ushuaia and the Antarctic, hiking long distances in the snowy, icy and slippery land, climbing in teams attached with ropes and reaching summits, taking care of each other, cruising on zodiacs and chasing whales, penguins as well as seals.

I was selected to be a team leader twice. The first time I was an assistant team leader for four days from Ushuaia till day two in Antarctica.

Then I was chosen to be a team leader and find my own team members. It was tough. The other team leaders were well experienced in sustainability and climate change. I had nothing much to say about myself except the following: “I’m an IT background person. I’m currently unemployed. I had to raise my own funds to make it here. I've no experience in sustainability nor in climate change, yet I'm very much passionate about my mission. I believe that I'm creative and can contribute with something good. My brain is full of ideas that need people like you to support and give feedback to help implement them." All the people I approached to join my team didn’t seem interested. It disappointed me. However, some people came afterwards. Those who came were very experienced and brought brilliant suggestions to support my ideas.

I learnt that it is always good to be I and never pretend to be somebody else. Patience is valuable and must be nurtured very well. A dream never dies if it is genuine and honest, it would definitely die if it wasn’t supported by faith and hard work.