Olfat Haider

Background

Olfat Haider was born and raised in Haifa, Israel, where she lives today. As an outstanding young volleyball player, she joined the Israeli National Women’s Team, as its only Arab member.

Olfat has always combined her love of sports and the land with her desire to bring people together. In addition to earning her B.Ed. in Physical Education, she worked as a teacher in high school for 12 years. Olfat also completed a B.A. in Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Haifa, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Gender Studies at Bar-Ilan University.

Olfat has been involved in several projects promoting peaceful co-existence between Jewish and Arab youth in Israel. She has also led and facilitated numerous multicultural and multi-ethnic groups of various ages in wide-ranging projects and initiatives. “When Jews and Arabs are brought together under challenging conditions, away from everything known and familiar,” she says, “they come to a point where they drop their masks and, with them, layers of separation. They discover that, in the end, they are much more alike than they thought, as beneath their ethnic or national identity they are all, first and foremost, human beings.”

In 2004, Olfat joined three other participants of Palestinian origin and four Jewish Israelis as a team member of “Breaking the Ice”. The project had them sail from South America to Antarctica, where the group climbed a previously un-summited peak and named it the “Israeli-Palestinian Friendship Mountain.”

In 2005, Olfat became a certified instructor at the Outward Bound School in North Carolina, where she worked in the Unity Project with various American ethnic groups. There, she also began working with Arab-Jewish groups and helped to create the Palestinian-Israeli Unity Project (PIUP), a joint effort between Outward Bound and “Breaking the Ice”. This project brought Arab and Jewish teenagers from Israel to the mountains of North Carolina for intensive wilderness expeditions. In 2007, Outward Bound authorized Olfat to establish its branch in Israel.

Currently, Olfat is working at Beit Hagefen — an Arab–Jewish Center in Haifa — as its Program Manager. One of her projects involves leading an annual student expedition to the Alps.

Olfat Haider continues with her sports activities as a hobby. Currently, she is training for and competing in triathlon competitions and running long distances. In between, Olfat continues to climb mountains around the globe.

Olfat is 41 years old and live in Haifa, Israel.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stolenberg unveils the Amundsen ice bust. Photo: Dagbladet.no/Ole Mathismoen/Scanpix

The ice bust of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who was the first to reach the South Pole 100 years ago has been unveiled in Antarctica.

Despite temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero, hundreds of people attended the commemorative ceremony on the South Pole, including Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

On December 14th 1911 Roald Amundsen’s expedition reached the South Pole overtaking another polar expedition led by British explorer Robert Scott.

Source: The Voice of Russia

In January 2012, a group of dedicated climbers will ascend Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest peak on the continent of Africa, while fundraising to construct a water reservoir for a community in need in Northern Kenya.

In 1998-2000, Kenya experienced a two-year drought. Ongoing issues have prevented communities, livestock and wild animals from having enough water to drink. Daily, Samburu women have to walk for an hour or more to collect water. The shortage of water means ill health and dehydration within the whole community – often leading to the prevalence of Trachoma, a bacterial infection of the eye and the leading cause of painful blindness. Reservoirs are of huge benefit to alleviate damage in times of drought, says expedition spokespersonPeter Kojalo.

The climb hopes to raise funds to construct a rainwater reservoir, which will benefit a local community for decades to come. A few open places remain for interested climbers. (For more information: http://www.elevatedestinations.com, info@elevatedestinations.com, 617 661 0203).

“It was a tremendous honor to have the King and Queen of Norway present to open the exhibit”

The exhibit, Cold Recall: Reflections of a Polar Explorer, on loan from Norway’s Fram Museum, is on display through Nov. 14 in Terminal 1-Lindbergh’s Concourse C. It is being displayed as part of the airport’s Arts and Culture Program, which is administered by the Airport Foundation MSP, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing travelers’ airport experience. The exhibit was secured through with a partnership between the Honorary Royal Norwegian Consulate, Sons of Norway (a Norwegian-American fraternal life insurance organization dedicated to preserving Norwegian Heritage and Culture), Destination Bloomington and the Airport Foundation MSP. This is the first time the exhibit has appeared in the United States.

Norwegian Roald Amundsen led the historic featured expedition from 1910 to 1912. In addition to illustrating the challenges of arctic exploration in the early 20th Century, the display also provides a unique look at the daily lives of polar explorers. There is no admission charge for the exhibit; however it is located past the terminal’s security checkpoints, so access is limited to ticketed passengers.

“It was a tremendous honor to have the King and Queen of Norway present to open the exhibit,” said Jana Vaughn, executive director of the Airport Foundation MSP. “The importance of the exhibit was also highlighted by the presence of some of the most respected modern explorers in the world: Minnesota natives Ann Bancroft and Will Steger and Norwegian Liv Arneson.

I encourage travelers flying through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to plan enough time during their trip to see for themselves the hardships Roald Amundsen and his team faced a century ago, when they became first to explore the unforgiving environs of the South Pole.”

Congratulations to the four winners:

Shawnnise Watkins
Susan McCormick Hadley
Pam Borton
Women’s Advocates

Visit Ann Bancroft Foundation to read more about the winners.

Ann Bancroft and Paul Schurke, polar explorers, will speak at the fundraising event on behalf of the St. Croix River Association. Don Shelby will moderate. Ann lives and trains on the St. Croix River in Scandia, and Paul, based in Ely, spent summers at his grandparents’ place on the Apple River just upstream from the St. Croix. Both understand the importance of expanding protection of the fragile St. Croix River and its watershed. To learn more go to http://www.stcroixriverassociation.org/events

94 DAYS, 1,717 MILES

As young girls, Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen read a recount of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s legendary attempt to cross Antarctica that stirred their imaginations and, despite being completely unaware of one another, they both declared the same childhood dream: to ski across Antarctica. In 1998, the women met for the first time, discovered they were kindred spirits, and prepared to achieve their childhood dream.

Starting Nov. 13, 2000, Bancroft and Arnesen skied and sailed across Antarctica for 94 days and 1,717 miles (2,747km), pulling 250 pound (113 kg) sleds full of food and equipment, enduring temperatures  as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 degrees Celsius) and winds gusting up to 100 miles (160 km) per hour.  The following timeline recounts their incredible journey:

Start/Two Weeks Behind (Nov. 13)  — Bancroft and Arnesen land on Antarctica with the intent to cross the continent’s landmass and the Ross Ice Shelf — a floating slab of ice the size of France.  They are two weeks behind schedule due to weather delays and under pressure to ski and sail about 2,300 miles (3,680 km) to reach McMurdo Station by Feb. 22, when Antarctica’s brutal winter begins.

Sygyn Glacier/Thanksgiving Emergency (Nov. 14-30) — The women climb from the Blue 1 Ice Runway up the Sygyn Glacier, a 121-mile (194 km) stretch which puts them at an altitude of 9,700 feet (2,959 m).  The day after Thanksgiving, an emergency beacon on Arnesen’s sled accidentally activates a “No. 15” alert (Send Help), causing the expedition’s Minneapolis team to begin rescue efforts.  Within four hours, the team reaches the explorers by satellite phone and discover to their great relief that snow trapped in the beacon tripped the alarm and the explorers are safe.

Polar Plateau/Slow Progress (Dec. 1-Jan. 13) — Bancroft and Arnesen cross 1,200 miles (1,920 km) of sastrugi, icy snowdrifts as high at 10 feet (3 m) tall.  Some days, they are able to ski and pull only a few miles; other days, they sail as far as 66 miles (106 km). Antarctica’s wind is unusually calm, causing the women to miss reaching the South Pole, where a re-supply of food awaits, by Christmas.  They ration their remaining food (chocolate and oatmeal) and, with their team in Minneapolis, decide that if they do not reach the South Pole by Jan. 18, lack of time will force the expedition to stop at the South Pole.

South Pole Miracle (Jan. 14-17) — With a sudden burst of wind at their backs, Bancroft and Arnesen sail 77 miles (123 km) in 14 hours.  Miraculously, on Jan. 16 at 4 a.m. South Pole time, they reach the South Pole for a two-day rest, a re-supply and a visit with the first people they’ve seen in two months.

The Titan Dome/Desperation (Jan. 18-27) — Bancroft and Arnesen pull their fully loaded sleds up 1,000 feet (305 m) in bitter cold.  Breathing is difficult; Arnesen’s fingertips crack and turn yellow.  One word describes the conditions and their mindset: desperate.

Shackleton Glacier/Danger (Jan. 28-Feb. 10) — The women negotiate the most dangerous — yet meaningful  — stretch of their trek: a 9,600-foot (2,928 m) descent of the glacier named after their childhood hero, Sir Ernest Shackleton. The glacier, a jagged river of ice with razor-sharp ridges and snow bridges over deep crevasses, is perilous.  Arnesen skis over ridges that slice a yard-long gash in her sled, exposing food and fuel bottles.  Both women punch through crevasses, catching themselves before falling in.  They name an area filled with countless cracks “Hell.”  They backtrack up the glacier to get out and sail the few miles to its edge.

Stepping into History (Feb. 11) — Bancroft and Arnesen step off the Shackleton Glacier and onto the Ross Ice Shelf, officially making history as the first women to cross Antarctica’s landmass on foot.  With time running out, there is little time for celebration.  They press on, hopeful that they can sail the final leg of their journey — the 490-mile (784 km) wide Ross Ice Shelf in 10 days.

The Decision to Stop/A Phone Call to Kids (Feb. 12-18) — Once again, Antarctica’s wind is absent.  Bancroft and Arnesen pull their sled for three days, making only 24 miles (38 km).  Hope that they will be able to cross the shelf and safely reach the McMurdo  area  by Feb. 22 dwindles.  With the help of their team in Minneapolis, they decide to call a ski-plane to carry them to safety: McMurdo Station, where  an ice ship waits to take them from Antarctica before winter sets in.

While they wait for the plane, they call 78 grade school students from Faribault, Minn., who wrote daily newspaper reports on their expedition.  The call is emotionally moving for Bancroft and Arnesen, who were afraid that by not completing the entire 2,300-mile crossing, they had let down the millions of children who followed their trek.  Says Bancroft, “To hear a fifth-grader tell you to articulately how you changed his life — that was exactly what we needed to hear.  They cried.  We cried.  It was the tonic we needed.”

Waiting Game (Feb. 18) — The plane that picks up Bancroft and Arnesen chooses to land on a safe landing strip at McMurdo Station, 20 miles (36 km) from where their ship, the Sir Hubert Wilkins, is anchored. A helicopter from their ship is sent to pick them up, but once it has landed, it is pinned down by weather and unable for almost a day to make the 20-minute flight back to the ship.

Standing Among Heroes (Feb. 19) — Bancroft and Arnesen finally reach the ship, and they are able to spend a day as “tourists.” The ship is near the huts, or “base camps,” of the polar explorers who inspired them to cross Antarctica when they were young girls: Sir Ernest Shackleton and Capt. Robert Falcon Scott. Bancroft and Arnesen stand among Shackleton and Scott’s belongings  — preserved by the cold and smelling of seal blubber, dusty book and ponies — and admire the bunks covered with reindeer sleeping bags and shelves lined with ketchup, raspberries and chutney.

After site-seeing, the women board their ship and sail for 14 days across the rough Southern Ocean to Hobart, Tasmania, where they are greeted warmly by townspeople and media.

One of the things about people my age when we were girls was that you had to be pretty resourceful within yourself and with your siblings; there weren’t so many planned activities. It was a great environment for me to develop my imagination. I could pretend I was on real Arctic expeditions.

Books also inspired me. My mother would find adventure books for me. She tried to find books with female figures; girls doing things outdoors (although I was never hindered by reading about boys, either). They had more opportunities, it seemed, but it was the adventure part that stimulated me. My mom also found me books about animals, and those particularly have stayed with me. She noticed which books made my eyes light up.

A book that inspired me when I was 12 was an adult book called Endurance by Alfred Lansing about the Shackleton expedition. I found it on my parents’ bookshelf. It also had tremendous pictures, and since I was a crummy reader—dyslexic, painfully slow—I pored over these black-and-white photos in the middle of the book. I wanted everything in them—the adventure, the camaraderie, the dog teams. The whole thing resonated with me.
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You can read the rest of Ann’s featured guest article on Daughters.com