Calling all Helderbergers eager to rally for a worthy cause! Masikhule founder Léanne Keet has teamed up with a few do-gooder friends who will champion the challenge of toughing out a gruelling open-water swim for charity.
She, along with fellow “False Bay Crazees” teammates Amy Lansdell, David Hall and Chris Mullineux, will brave chilly, choppy waters when they embark on the Swim the Bay for Books marathon in hopes of raising funds in aid of Maskhule’s early literacy programmes.
The four pals will swim a 33 km relay marathon across the False Bay from Miller’s Point to Rooi Els between Saturday 9 and Friday 15 March.
After completing the Robben Island crossing twice (in December 2022 and February earlier this year) Keet was up for another swimming challenge. “Having lived in the ‘Bay’ for almost all my life,” she said, “and after rediscovering the joys of open water swimming at Strand and Gordon’s Bay, this seemed like a perfect adventure to embark on.
“Adding a purpose besides personal achievement, always makes challenges more worthwhile. I am totally committed to Masikhule, the services it offers to the ECD community in the Helderberg area and all its beneficiaries, and this is another way of showing my commitment and belief in what we do.”
Masikhule is a registered non-profit organisation that strives to ensure all underprivileged children living in disadvantaged Helderberg communities are cared for at Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres offering holistic development and stimulation programmes, so little ones have access to formal schooling with a solid foundation of knowledge, maturity and independence.
After discussing her initial idea of swimming relay across the bay with her like-minded pals, they jumped on the bandwagon without hesitation. Keet and the accompanying trio are all members of the Strand Ocean Warriors group, share a common love for the ocean, which is their happy place and also love being challenged, enjoy the unknown and embrace difficult conditions. She said: “We meet regularly in the early mornings for an ocean swim, in varying weather conditions and throughout the year. Besides the benefits of swimming (and cold water swimming in particular) and being in nature, it is the camaraderie, the banter, the support and the coffee afterwards that has seen wonderful friendships develop.”
Asked what makes the challenge so significant the local embodying humanitarian spirit said the uncertainty around the actual date (which is a waiting game until the most ideal weather conditions to set off), the distance (which although much more do-able as a relay than as a solo challenge, is the same distance as the English Channel) and all the unknowns on the day – currents, wind, swell, chop, jellyfish, and other sea life, and of course the water temperature which can vary between 10 and 18 degrees.
The joint effort will see the group of waterbabies embark on the swim challenge without wetsuits, in between 10 and 15 hours from when they leave from Miller’s Point before sunrise and end at Rooi Els, hopefully before sunset.
This to raise funds to equip at least 20 community-based ECD centres under Masikhule’s wing with bookracks filled with age- and language-appropriate books, aimed specifically at the baby and toddler group. But also for a sense of achievement and to prove, once again, that anything is possible.
“One of Masikhule’s main aims is to ensure young children enter formal school well-prepared, with a sense of independence and on track. Masikhule offers many services to fulfil this vision and one method is through early literacy. The benefits of reading to young children and them having access to books at an early age encourages the development of cognitive skills, language skills, concentration, listening skills, creativity and imagination, thinking skills and life skills. Research has shown that children who develop strong early literacy skills are more likely to succeed academically, exhibit higher levels of self-confidence and actively engage in learning experiences. Swimming the Bay for Books will help us reach this goal of getting books to the youngest of children.”
Asked how locals can rally behind the swimmers with heart, Keet replied either by making a monetary contribution through GivenGain (https://www.givengain.com/campaign/swim-the-bay-for-books) or donating new or previously loved (but in excellent condition) hardcover and board-books for newborn to three year olds.
