Katrine Olsen
Katrine's HER Planet Earth Expedition - Greenland 2020
Fundraising for UN Women UK
Story
THE EXPEDITION
Dear family, friend, fellow traveller...
First of all, thank you for visiting my JustGiving fundraiser, for showing interest in my upcoming expedition to Greenland and perhaps why I yet again have chosen to leave my comfortable home in Hong Kong in exchange for sub-zero degrees and daily exhaustion for the benefit of our environment.
Working in the airline industry and travelling solo for many years to the outskirts of civilisation I was certainly fulfilled when it came to picturesque sceneries and Instagram worthy holiday photos. But after a handful of years and many expeditions, treks and dives under my belt, the excitement faded and I lost some of the drive to explore, I felt something was missing; my purpose.
And so the world’s problems ironically became my travel saviour, as I was given an opportunity to join an all-female expedition team to western Mongolia in 2018, fundraising for women survivors of war, suddenly and unexpectedly bringing back my passion for travelling, for understanding the impact we‘re having on the world around us, teaching me that travelling for something larger than myself, a positive impact, a cause, can change everything.
And so here I am again, on the brink of another great adventure, highlighting the devastating impact of climate change in the Artic Region and Greenland as our first all-female team attempts to cross of The Arctic Circle Trail on fat bikes, a 200KM stretch of rocky outcrops and frozen plains in Southwest Greenland.
As has only become more and more visible and urgent with recent bushfires in Australia and forest fires in the Amazon, climate change is affecting all of us, directly or indirectly. And although not on the front of the newspapers these days, artic sea ice decline and melting ice caps incl. the Greenland ice sheet, leading to Sea Level Rise (SLR), is one of the most severe impacts of climate change, the rising waters threatening to inundate many coastal regions and whole island nations by the end of the century.
Now this is where I could have thrown a whole bunch of studies, predictions and numbers at you, but since you’re reading this, my guess is that I don’t need to convince you any further. And so sometimes it helps to go beyond the numbers and see the changes and challenges we’re facing with our own eyes, making them real, understandable and relatable, talking to the locals and listening to the impact our habits, consumerism and daily decisions have on someone else’s home - especially when “someone else’s home” is really your own. Hence I’ll be going “back” to the northernmost part of my native Danish territory - Greenland.
Being an all-female expedition and with a global impact working with governments to change policy and legislation, we’ve chosen to support the work of UN Women UK, a global organisation created to direct UN activities on gender equality, women and girls being disproportionately affected by the increasing effects of climate change - our fundraising specifically supporting sustainable projects in countries most affected by climate change such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Vietnam.
Furthermore this expedition is 100% self funded - that means 100% of your contribution is directly transferred to UN Women UK.
I sincerely hope this has inspired you, and that wether you’re a #ClimateChampion a #HeForShe or #WomenEmpowerment or perhaps just a good friend or colleague who would like to send me off to Greenland warmed by a kind donation, you will support me in my efforts to try and raise 10.000HKD/8500DKK. Leaving both me and hopefully you too a little more hopeful about our future together on this amazing planet.
Thank you for your generosity and warming my heart while I freeze my butt;)
And please don’t hesitate getting in touch if you would like to hear more or have any further questions or suggestions.
/Katrine
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THE NUMBERS
Climate related disasters have led to the loss of 700 thousand lives, 1.7 billion people affected and economic losses of USD 1.4 trillion. And on top of this, climate change is disproportionally affeting women and girls, as multiple discriminations mean that women are more vulnerable in crises and post disasters situations.
THE CAUSE
Therefore I’m asking your support in raising funds for UN Women UK, and their programmes supporting the economic empowerment of women in rural areas of Asia, more specifically, in countries most affected by climate change, such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Nepal.
THE CHARITY
UN Women was created in 2010 to direct UN activities on gender equality issues. Before then, no one organisation had the authority to promote gender equality on a global scale and address the serious challenges facing women and girls everywhere.
Our aim is to remove the social and cultural barriers that prevent women and girls from achieving their potential. These barriers exist in public policy, educational opportunity, conscious or unconscious bias, and economic empowerment.
HOW WILL MY DONATION BENEFIT(USD)
- $25 could provide leadership and self-esteem workshops to women and girls to give them the skills and confidence to response to these climate risk challenges.
- $100 could help to set up livelihood projects that empower women business leaders in agriculture to manage their business in at risk areas.
- $500 could help us to work with government to develop Post-Disaster Needs Assessments to inform disaster recovery strategies and national disaster management planning.
- $1000 could allow us to keep a safe house open for women and children fleeing natural disaster for one week.
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- Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.