Vietnamese Talents
Vietnamese woman visits South Pole
  • | dtinews.vn | April 12, 2016 02:33 PM

Nguyen Thi Thuy Van, born in 1984, has shared about her recent trip to the Antarctica as part of the Leadership on the Edge Programme to see on the world’s most isolated natural environments and raise awareness about climate change.

 

The flag of Vietnam Youth Federation brought to South Pole

Van is a financial accounting consultant with a passion for the environment. She has participated in the trips to various famous destinations in the world include a Kenya Mountain climb and has just returned from the trip to Antarctica, following the Leadership on the Edge Programme held by 2041 Foundation Inc. in March. They started from Ushuaia City, Argentina, on the 12-day journey to the South Pole with other 100 participants.

They observed penguins, seals and other animals on the way and swam in the -2 Celsius water. As the group arrived in late summer, temperatures hovered at around 0 Celsius but they had to face with strong winds. "Sometimes the wind speed picked up to 80km per hour and it made walking, especially across frozen water, extremely dangerous," Van said.

 

Swimming in -2 Celsius water

They were also threatened by harmful rays because of the ozone hole over Antarctica. The participants were instructed to keep the ice clean including washing their boots before and after boarding a boat. Despite being enamoured with the penguins, they could only watch them from five metres away in order not to disturb their lives.

Robert Swan, founder of 2041 and the first person to walk both poles in the 1980s, had high praise for Van's determination and her preparations and plans to visit the South Pole over the past six years.

   


Van and other participants

Van hoped to understand more about the history, the environment as well as solutions to protect the raw beauty there. After returning to Vietnam, she set up a Facebook page to share about her experiences and encourage other people to take part in similar journeys to the South Pole.

Van is also a member of the World Wildlife Fund. In the short-term, she plans to go to schools to raise awareness about environment among the pupils. "Always train yourself and live a positive life," is her motto.

The Leadership on the Edge programme is part of the International Antarctic Expedition 2016 to bring people together to discuss the impacts of climate change. It is also a chance to witness the effects of temperature rises. Recent research showed that the polar ice is melting much faster and sooner than expected. If the West Antarctic ice sheet melted entirely, it could raise the sea level by more than three metres.

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