September 15, 2009

Months before reaching the ice of Antarctica, the Commonwealth Women’s team already faced an enormous challenge.  If the team could not secure adequate funding then their ambition of reaching the South Pole would remain a dream.  Hundreds of hours of training and planning were at risk if the eight team members failed to raise the money and support they needed.

Now with the help of Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management systems, the eight women from Commonwealth countries have the money and all the support they need to complete their amazing quest.

At the official launch of what will be known as the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition, five of the eight team members came together to celebrate the realization of their dream which will take them to the bottom of the world by January 2010.

The Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition team Clockwise from centre: Helen Turton (UK); Sophia Pang (Singapore); Reena Dharmshaktu (India); Stephanie Solomonides (Cyprus); Charmaine Tate(NZ); Kim-Marie Spence (Jamaica); Felicity Aston (UK) and centre, Era Al-Sufri (Brunei)

Team leader Felicity Aston said the support of Kaspersky Lab could not have come at a better time.

“The team has been selected for months, but at the back of our minds was the fear that without funding, the expedition may be delayed or even cancelled. Thanks to Kaspersky Lab our team is going to the South Pole.  We can now focus on our training, with the peace of mind that our funding is secure.  And we are confident we will make the citizens of each of our eight nations proud of us,” Ms. Aston said.

The approach to Kaspersky Lab was made by Asian team member Sophia Pang, who knew the company from her role as an IT consultant.

“At first I was hoping Kaspersky Lab would support my ambition to be the first Singaporean women to reach the South Pole.  When Kaspersky Lab agreed to sponsor the entire team, I simply jumped for joy,” Ms. Pang said.

Harry Cheung, Managing Director of Kaspersky Lab, Asia Pacific said, “Every day, Kaspersky Lab’s staff overcome the challenges of cyber crime, computer malware and IT threats in order to keep our customers secure.  That’s why we responded to the aspirations of this expedition.  Ambition and the desire to overcome obstacles are qualities Kaspersky Lab shares with the women in this team.”

The team was selected from more than 500 applicants with members from eight Commonwealth nations: Britain, Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana, India, Jamaica, New Zealand and Singapore.

The expedition will meet and depart from the United Kingdom on 10 November 2009.  The women will then set out in two teams of four women from opposite coasts of Antarctica and ski to the South Pole.  They will travel some 500 miles across the most hostile environment on Earth, enduring temperatures of minus 40 degrees centigrade, with winds that reach speeds of over 80mph, dangerous crevasses under the ice and disorientating blizzards which last for days at a time.

The women will be pulling sledges containing all the food, fuel and equipment they will need for their journey.  Camping in tents on the ice when they sleep, they will survive on lightweight dehydrated rations and melted snow.  Unguided, they will need to rely on each other to navigate themselves safely to the South Pole.

When the teams meet each other at the South Pole by New Year’s Day, the team members from Cyprus, Ghana, Brunei Darussalam and Jamaica, will be the first representatives of their nation (male or female) to ski to the South Pole, while the team members from India, Singapore and New Zealand will be the first women of their nation to ski to the South Pole.

The teams will be blogging daily during the expedition. Every day, an audio recording and a text blog will come back from the team.  All those interested will be able to follow the expedition in real time at www.commonwealthexpedition.com as well as www.kklub.net using interactive maps, podcasts, and Twitter messages.