atherine Withers has set sail to 'Row to Rescue', her gruelling 3,000 mile row between Tenerife and Antigua, to help IJM's work to end slavery.
The rowing route follows the path taken by thousands of victims of the transatlantic slave trade, which Catherine has chosen in order to raise awareness of the fact that modern slavery is a continuing reality for over 40 million people in the world today.
Catherine was inspired by IJM’s holistic approach to ending slavery, commenting that she appreciates ‘it’s not just about going in and rescuing victims, they also take the long-term approach of bringing perpetrators to account for their actions through transforming broken criminal justice systems for long-term good.'
Track Cat's row and donate here
Despite never having rowed prior to this year, and amidst the challenges that the pandemic has presented for training, Cat was determined to rise to the occasion.
“It is so inspiring to see Catherine’s commitment to protecting people from slavery by undertaking this epic feat."
- David Westlake, CEO of IJM UK
It is the ‘the ultimate rowing endurance test’, she will be rowing an excess of 1.5 million oar strokes and experiencing waves of up to forty feet.
This is in addition to the extreme temperatures of below ten to over forty degrees. They’ll also experience sleep deprivation due to their rowing schedule, which follows a two hours on, two hours off pattern twenty-four hours a day.
It’s an arduous challenge, evidenced by the fact that fewer people have successfully rowed an ocean than have climbed Everest.
"We’re so grateful to Catherine for helping make freedom a reality for people trapped in slavery today and for joining the movement to see slavery ended for good.”
- David Westlake, CEO of IJM UK