SAFETY: Canadians hope to field all-female mine rescue team in Russia

[caption id="attachment_1003723322" align="aligncenter" width="486"] With your support, Canada will send an all-female mine rescue team to compete in Russia later this year. (Image: NetNewsLedger)[/caption] A team of seven women – Diamonds in the Rough – is raising money to travel to Russia this fall and compete in the international mine rescue competition. This is believed to be the first time an all-female team will be assembled. The coach of the team, Kari Lentowicz, has a decade’s worth of experience with Saskatchewan miners. She has had her share of struggles in the male-dominated industry, and she hopes taking a team of women to the competition will help break down some of the barriers. “We need to showcase that women can do this, not just provincially or nationally but internationally — that we are valuable competitors and this is a role that we can do on a day-to-day basis,” Lentowicz said. The cost of sending a mine rescue team to Russia is about $87,000. Ordinarily the mining company for whom the team members work would pay the costs and offer paid time off. Since these women work for different companies, they lack the support of individual employers – only some of whom have offered to pick up part of the bill. So the Diamonds in the Rough have started a Go Fund Me page to raise another $20,000 so they can compete. Please give what you can – this writer has contributed $100 – at www.GoFundMe.com/Diamonds-in-the-Rough-mrt and wish them well.