Through their charity, ‘Team Island Girls,’ the team of five Antiguan young ladies will be rowing for the construction of a place to house girls who are in conflict with the law. This was according to Kevinia Francis and Elvira Bell who spoke on the Big Issues on Observer radio, yesterday.
“We did a needs assessment with the Ministry of Social Transformation. We identified that there isn’t a home for girls in conflict with the law. So, this year we have partnered with them, that any funds in excess of our expenses goes directly into building the facility to house girls in conflict with the law,” was the explanation given.
The team will be participating in the inaugural Pacific Challenge by the ‘World Toughest Row,’
Scheduled for June 2023, participating teams will row from Monterey Harbour, California, to Hanalei Bay in Kauai, Hawaii.
Former CNN news anchor, Tony Harris, has partnered with Team Antigua Island Girls to document their exciting voyage across the Pacific. This coverage will include media stops in California and Miami before they set out to row the ocean, according to the duo.
“One of the things we want to achieve is similar to what we achieved in 2018/19, where we took up space as ordinary black women doing something extraordinary that you don’t usually see in that space (ocean rowing),” they shared, in response to a question on the goal of their partnership with Harris.
“Freeze-dry food or wet meals. Wet rations are for special days or emergencies. They put it in a dehydrator and remove all of the liquid. Then somebody puts it in a bag for you and then you have to open that bag and add water. It becomes not the same, it’s very watery,” was the answer given in response to the type of food that they’ll be eating while rowing.
Team Antigua Island Girls is the all-black, all-female team who rowed across the Atlantic in the Talisker Whiskey Challenge some four years ago.
The team is comprised of Kevinia Francis, Christal Clashing, Elvira Bell, and Samara Emmanuel.
