Row for Freedom

Six ordinary women are set to attempt a trans-Atlantic row…

This December, a crew of six women will attempt to become the first female crew to successfully row from the Canary Islands to Barbados, a total of 3000 miles. On top of that, they aim to do it in the fastest time. The route is known as one of the world’s toughest and the six women will spend a total of forty days and nights rowing around the clock and through all weather conditions aboard their vessel, ‘The Gaurdian’.

Of course their challenge is in aid of a valid cause: to help end human trafficking. Believe it or not, there are more people in slavery today than ever before. The estimate sits at 27 million people, over half of these children, who live in modern day slavery and are victims of human trafficking.

Julia Immonen, founder of Sport Against Trafficking and one of the six crew, decided to use Row For Freedom as a platform event to help raise £1 million for charities supporting the victims of human trafficking. Julia said:

“We’ll be rowing 24 hours a day, two hours on – two hours off, for about forty days to expose the very real problem of human trafficking. Last year more than 700 victims were identified in the UK and without proper support and care, these victims can again fall prey to traffickers and suffer additional physical, sexual and mental abuse.”

The six, strong crew comprises Julia Immonen, Debbie Beadle, Katie Pattison-Hart, Kate Richardson, Andrea Quigley and Helen Leigh. The girls are charity workers, models and athletes, hailing from all corners of the globe, and have each been inspired to harness the positive power of sport to raise awareness and much needed funding for projects to tackle human trafficking.

For more information and to donate, visit the Row For Freedom website.

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