"One team member, Heather Prodger, became very, very ill. The rest of us would go down to offer words of sympathy, move the puke pail, or make sure that she was hydrated. She suffered terribly, yet her big concern was with letting down her fellow team members (and bear in mind that before the trip, we were all complete strangers, although Heather and I both came from Standard Life). Even as she lay there, praying that the lurching and rolling would stop, she was feeling guilty about not contributing to the team. That, to me, is absolutely immense."

Sidebar: From Africa to Antarctica

For adults, it's easy to ignore environmental problems. for young people, it's easy to have the opposite reaction: Environmental problems can seem overwhelming. "At the age of 11," remembers Robert Swan, "I was told that if the Russians or the Americans just pressed a couple of buttons, the planet could blow up 3,000 times. I became switched off. I'd sit there thinking, 'What would all of this look like if the world blew up 3,000 times?' "

Around the same time, Swan saw a film about Antarctica that prevented him from becoming completely disengaged: "I became more and more interested in going to this great white wilderness." Swan did indeed go to Antarctica -- numerous times. Now he leads groups of teenagers and young adults on expeditions to the region. There, they conduct experiments, raise awareness about major environmental issues -- and view the polar splendor firsthand.

Nsaa-Iya Kihunrwa, now 25, traveled to Antarctica in 1996 as part of a UNESCO expedition consisting of 35 young adults from 25 countries and from various backgrounds. A native of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Kihunrwa received a degree in computer science last June. He worked as a member of the UNESCO expedition's media team. While his teammates recorded information using digital video cameras, Kihunrwa used a painting kit. The results of his artistry, and of his teammates' more high-tech efforts, were then posted on the Internet and published in a magazine called YEs (YE stands for "young explorers").

Back in Dar es Salaam, Kihunwra visits schools and presents a slide show about his polar adventure. "I have been called an expert on Antarctica," Kihunwra reports. "That might not be true, but my experience counts for a lot. I think it is a great achievement that I am no doubt the youngest, and possibly the first, Tanzanian to set foot on that majestic continent."

You can reach Nsaa-Iya Kihunrwa by email (andrew@udsm.ac.tz).