Bahrain’s superwoman

Were you to suggest to Yvonne Trueman that she was at an age where she should perhaps spend a day catching up on sleep, or dedicate an evening to listening to piano recitals; one could excuse her for telling you to get on your bike?

Not that she ever would; of course, she is too much of a lady. But she is happy to explain just what motivates her to climb on her saddle and set off on the most extraordinary cycling adventures.
“My problem is I am curious – or nosey, as my friends would say – and I just have to have a go at most things.”
Yvonne, recipient of the Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition for her charitable endeavours, has proven wrong the myth that old age is a time to sit back and relax.
She has recently returned to her home in Adliya from Jordan having helped raise funds of around BD44,000 for a children’s charity.
She was one of 30 participants of a group of bikers from all over the UK and was the only overseas entry. The group called – ‘Lets Bike for Children’ was organised by Action for Charity.
Her adventure started off in Amman and took in the Dead Sea and the Red Sea and came about after she spotted an advertisement in a newspaper giving details of the Jordan Desert Bike Challenge.
A challenge is certainly proved when her group got struck in an unexpected snow storm and had to be rescued from a school where they had to take cover.
“It started to snow and then came the hailstones and we were forced to take shelter huddling together to keep warm as the temperature had dropped to three degrees below freezing!” Yvonne explained.
“We had been warned about sun stroke, but this was totally unexpected. We renamed the challenge to Jordan the Snow Challenge Icicle Ride!”
She is now preparing herself for a cycle trip along the Nile in November and by next November hopes to get back on her bike in Cuba.
Hailing from Hatfield in England, she belongs to a family of dedicated charity workers. Between her and her two brothers, they have run over 50 marathons for good causes. Personally, Yvonne has run four London and two New York marathons along with a number in Bahrain.
In 1994, while stationed with the British Army in Belize, in Central America, her son, Captain Julian David Pooley was killed in a road accident. He had been a helicopter pilot carrying out drug surveillance flights with the British Army.
It was only after his death that she found out that he had been supporting a Belize orphanage.
“I decided to carry on his good work and I continue to support the charity. I try to return to Belize from time to time to check on what the children need. There are 72 children living in the home which is built for only 30.
“All the children are abandoned, abused and homeless.  So the work which my son Julian got involved with continues to this day.”
With a passion for lending a hand to humanity running strong within this family, it comes as no surprise that her daughter, Katharine, too, has devoted time to help good causes.
The interior designer last year crossed the Arctic Circle with a dog-sledge raising funds. She is also a mountaineer in her spare time and has climbed five of the major peaks and is currently at the Everest Base Camp on holiday. Aside from travelling around the world, Katharine has been raising money for various orphanages and children’s homes in places like Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Hong Kong.
In Bahrain, her mum has become a household name for her charity efforts. Yvonne has been helping raise funds for the past 25 years supporting such major initiatives as the Geriatric Hospital in Muharraq and the Gulf War Veterans.
She also supports her brother, Derek Pereira, who founded the Dreamflight project that takes seriously ill children on trips to Disneyland in the US.
The Dreamflight project was started 21 years ago and came to Bahrain in 2000. Every year, ill children from the kingdom, along with children from the UK and Hong Kong, are taken on a holiday with the support of British Airways.
To date Dreamflight has taken more than 5,000 children on their journey of a life time. 
Yvonne’s first landing in Bahrain was almost 30 years ago when she came here with her husband, Dr Arthur Trueman.
She said: “He was the Chief Medical Officer at ALBA for 10 years until his death in 1987. He was very well-known in Bahrain – in those days Alba Medical Centre also looked after Gulf Air, British Airways and other major companies in Bahrain, it was a large practice with three major clinics for all the staff and their families.
“When my husband died, I decided to stay on for two years, but have been here since.”
Yvonne was trained as a private pilot in the UK and has been flying for nearly 40 years now. “This year I have clocked up 40 years active private flying and I just don’t know where the years have gone,” she says.
She is the section governor of the International Women’s Flying Organisation. The organisation was formed by Amelia Earhart in 1929 in the US to form a fellowship amongst flying ladies.
“The Arabian Section was formed in 1987 and I have been the Section Governor for over 10 years. I am constantly seeking new recruits from Egypt down to Oman, a great pioneering area.
“Our activities are of a personal nature, we all have a directory of lady pilots throughout the world and it is the theme that each one gives hospitality to visiting pilots. 
“This is a great way to meet new interesting people around the world and to share flying interests.”
Apart from flying, Yvonne has been trained as a natural therapist, hypnotherapist, worked as a freelance writer and a counsellor.
It does not end there. Yvonne has also been actively participating in all kinds of sports ranging from squash, skiing, surf boarding, sailing, spinning, long distance running and now, cycling.
“Discovering a new sport when you have done most things is quite an adventure,” she said.
Her keenness for getting out and about is a reflection of her zeal for life.

By Shilpa Chandran
shilpa.chandran@gulfweekly.com