Swim For Hope is a fundraising platform through which open water swimmers can dedicate a solo or group swim, or individual race participation, to a worthy South African cause.
Swim for Hope was born in 2013 when Carina Bruwer returned to the ocean after a 5 year break during which she started a family. It was a dramatic solo rounding of Cape Point in support of the Little Fighters Association (LFCT), an NPO that supports children with cancer and their families. Subsequently, Carina organised three group swims around Cape Point for LFCT, raising in excess of R300,000 in total for this organisation. She also dedicated various solo swims and races in Europe to the project.
Carina’s third child was born in 2016, resulting in another short hiatus from her beloved sport, and now in 2018, she is planning to return yet again, and this time for a new beneficiary that is very close to her heart. In September 2018, completed an unprecedented “Triple Countries” swim from France, through Monaco, to Italy – a 22km route that had not been swum before. Completing the swim in challenging conditions through heavy chop and against the current, Carina raised R50,000 for the Muzukidz project – a Cape Town based organisation that offers the opportunity for children from surrounding townships to learn to play the violin.
The next Swim For Hope will see Carina attempting a 21km crossing from Alicante to Tabarca Island in Spain, in an effort to raise enough funds to allow a new Spanish teacher to join the Muzukidz project on a permanent basis.
“When I had kids, my priorities changed and although I kept up my fitness in the pool, extreme swimming naturally had to take a back seat. I did however miss open water swimming and the ocean was calling my name loudly, but embarking on a big swim is so time consuming and takes up so much of one’s energy… So I made a deal with myself: if I was going to swim again, I needed to do it in a way that was not just for my own enjoyment; I had to swim to make a difference – I had to SWIM FOR HOPE!”
CarinaCURRENT PROJECT
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