British-born explorer Jason Lewis arrived in Qatar on Tuesday to the great delight of the students of Lycée Franco-Qatarien Voltaire, the French international school on Salwa Road.
Lewis is credited by ‘Guinness World Records’ as the first person to circumnavigate the planet using only human power. During his around-the-world journey of 46,505 miles without using motors or the power of the wind, Lewis walked, cycled, rollerbladed, kayaked, swam and pedalled (in a unique pedal-powered boat called ‘Moksha’ meaning liberation in Sanskrit) across five continents, two oceans, and one sea.



Lewis making his presentation in the classroom.

He joined Voltaire students on a kayaking excursion to explore the mangrove in Al Khor and study its biodiversity. Led by Lewis and his wife Tammie Stevens, the students gathered several large bags of plastic bottles, tin cans, fishing nets, and other discarded rubbish. “The ecosystem of the mangrove is fragile and significantly affected by the debris, so the student visit was a great help and success,” said Lewis.
Elyas, one of the students who helped clear the mangrove, remarked, “it was interesting to interact with people from another culture, and nice to know more about Lewis’ convictions for the environment and why he and his wife chose to be vegan. It gave me another view of what I do and how it impacts the environment.”
The event was only part of Lewis’ week-long visit to the school which culminated in a conference for the students and parents during which Eric Chevallier, ambassador of France, spoke about the COP21 summit in Paris and he and Lewis shared their perspectives on the future of our planet.
Lewis also drew from his experiences exploring the planet to engage and motivate Grade 8-11 students in a wide variety of curriculum areas and international topics. Students interviewed the couple for their school magazine, wrote articles, and also conducted video and radio interviews. When asked about her experience spending a week with a modern-day explorer, Ines said, “I have learned that nothing is impossible. You can do anything if you are willing to do the work!”
Lewis, an award-winning author, also conducted a workshop with Grade 10 students entering a short-story contest for international French schools in the Middle East and the Indian Peninsula.
Stevens, a former actress, who also participated in the week’s events by coaching students on speeches given at a public event on Sunday, was “amazed at the high academic achievement of the students, their command of so many languages, and the complexity of the questions that were posed to them during their stay.” It is a testament, she says, “to the level of professionalism and dedication of Voltaire’s teachers. They genuinely care about the education and wellbeing of each student.”
Lewis gives corporate talks on goal setting and personal performance which help to defray costs for school visits. While in Qatar he also presented a talk to Total and would like to thank them for their insight and support. He plans to return to Qatar in the hopes of continuing his efforts to impact the lives of children, spreading his message of dedication, perseverance and world citizenship.  
He feels a future visit fits in perfectly with Qatar’s National Vision 2030 and the mutual goal he shares of commitment to sustainability and environmental causes. Qatar’s example is one, he says, other countries can learn much from.
In addition to first human-powered circumnavigation, Jason set three world records: the first east-west crossing of the Atlantic by a pedal-powered boat; the first solo crossing of the US on rollerblades and the first pedal-powered crossing of the Pacific Ocean from USA to Australia — San Francisco to Port Douglas, an 8,000 nautical mile voyage that took 178 days.
One of the students, Sophia said, “It was inspiring. I learned that I never have to give up on my dreams and that I can do anything. It might be difficult, but it’s not impossible.” Another student Ikram said, “When I heard about this expedition, I thought it was impossible. Then I listened to Lewis and realised that anyone could do it. You just need to listen to your heart and believe in yourself.”