'I rowed 3,000 miles for freedom'

"After graduating in Financial Economics in the UK,I spent the next eight years in finance. I transferred to Dubai six years ago to help set up the bank's UAE branch, before becoming a sales director at a consultancy firm. It was challenging and I enjoyed it, but it was all-consuming.

"In 2009, I made a life decision - to move away from the corporate environment. I made a list of everything outside of my career that I wanted to achieve. There was a strong focus on sports - as a child I was an avid gymnast and competed in high-board diving. I felt this fitness aspect of my life was missing.

"I resigned and became a part-time gymnastics coach and concentrated more on my fitness. About this time, at a friend's barbecue I met UK-based Julia Immonen, who was in Dubaion holiday. She told me about her upcoming campaign, ‘Row For Freedom', where a women-only crew were attempting to row unaided across the Atlantic Ocean. They were aiming for a new world record of less than 50 days. I understood that there would be no home comforts, no bathroom and a limited diet. It would be gruelling and would require extreme determination and courage. When she offered me a place on the boat I literally jumped on board. The fact that I had never rowed before didn't deter me. The attempt, together with the charities it was raising awareness for, was exactly the challenge I was looking for. 

Sport against trafficking

"Through Row For Freedom my eyes were opened to the crime of human trafficking - in the 21st century there are more people in slavery than ever before. The industry is thriving with an estimated 27 million victims. According to Unicef, 5.7 million are children and 80 per cent of trafficked children work in the sex industry. Human trafficking generates £20 billion (almost Dh120 billion) per year… that's more than the profits of Nike, Google and Starbucks combined. Just one life in slavery is one too many… to think there are 27 million is simply unbearable.

"I met with the other crew members in the UK, four women equally passionate about the challenge and the cause, as well as victims of human trafficking. Their stories were so shocking yet they were still smiling. The thought that so many young traffic victims are still out there gave us the motivation to push ourselves through the pain barriers we experienced whilst training, and then crossing the Atlantic. 

Transatlantic crossing

"After 12 months of intense preparation we felt ready, finally setting off on December 8 last year from The Canary Islands. Within days we hit our first challenge - our vital automated hydration equipment broke. We were rowing 24 hours a day, sharing shifts of two hours on, two hours off. On top of that we now had to spend an extra 12 hours a day hand-pumping to produce enough drinking water to survive. Next to pack up was the automatic steering system, that too had to be manual, adding extra tasks to our already exhausting schedule. As the days, then weeks, went by we were all sleep-deprived, seasick and nursing painful sores from constant salt water and chafing.

"At times 3,000 miles felt overwhelming, especially when we hit a storm. The waves were terrifying... nothing prepares you for going to the toilet in a bucket in 50-foot waves. We had to wear a foot leash in case we slipped overboard. Starless night changeovers were the worst - it was pitch black and we were thrown all over the boat. But despite the challenges we sang and laughed and stayed focused on our nearing goal.

"January 21, 2012, is a day I will never forget - the day we reached our destination, Barbados. Our 45-day Transatlantic crossing smashed two world records: one for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an all-female team and the second for being the first five-woman team to row any ocean. We also managed to raise £70,000 for the charities fighting to stop trafficking - The A21 Campaign and ECPAT UK. 

27 million campaign

"While the challenge for us may be over, the cause remains. Row For Freedom has built a platform of awareness against child trafficking internationally; my intention is to now highlight the problem locally. I've teamed up with Dubai gym, The Burn Room, and the UAE Red Crescent for the ‘27 million project', representing the number of victims enslaved today. The goal over the next 12 months is to reach 27 million on a points system. Each month we have a split target of 2.2 million - one month that may be metres run, cycled, swum or rowed, another month it may be kilograms lifted or the number of sit-ups or skips a team can do. If we stick to our target, we'll reach the27 million goal, raising awareness within the community as we go.

"Perhaps nothing can be as tough as our Transatlantic row, but we did it, and my perspective on life has changed. Human trafficking can be stopped. I now know anything is possible."