Eclectic Dreams

Told to “make an effort” and “get dressed up” when I mentioned to my colleagues I was off to interview philanthropist CHRISTINE AMOUR-LEVAR, my anxiety is raised a little more as her security guard sighs, “Ah, the beautiful Christine”, when I tell him which unit I am visiting. My nerves are quickly allayed when I meet her, though. Yes, she’s glamorous and beautiful; she’s also open, warm and funny, particularly when discussing her home, the condo where she and her family have been living for almost 11 years. She talks with infectious enthusiasm about her not-for-profi t organisation, Women on a Mission, and shows me around her luxuriously styled and eclectic apartment.

- Amy Brook-patridge

I catch Christine just a few days before she leaves for her sixth Women on a Mission expedition, this time to Iran for a desert crossing, a far cry from last year’s trip to Siberia where the group experienced sub-zero temperatures. “This time, we’re actually going to the hottest place on earth, the Lut Desert (or Dasht-e-Lut); though luckily not at the hottest time of the year when the temperature can reach 70 degrees Celsius!” The group of 12 women will head there at the start of “winter”, when daytime temperatures will be more like 40 degrees Celsius.

They will cover 200km on foot in aid of Women on a Mission, the not-for-profit organisation which Christine co-founded four years ago. Its aim is to raise funds for and awareness of women survivors of war, as well as to support women who have been subjected to violence and abuse. Usually, potential participants are invited to take part in the expeditions, which are self-funded by each team member, and all money raised goes to a specific charitable group. For this current expedition, the money will go to Women for Women International UK, an independent humanitarian organisation that provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and selfsufficiency.

In addition to expeditions like this, which can take from two to three weeks, Women on a Mission has also launched its “mini” expeditions. The first was a biking trip in Cambodia with 14 women in early 2016; the next will be a six-night trip to Bhutan, which will include stand-up paddle boarding, rafting and camping. Each trip is aimed at challenging the participants, and fitness training is integral to the run-up to each expedition. A lifelong fitness fan herself, Christine has managed to combine her passion for adventure and sports with her other passion for helping those in need.