Katherine Chapman
Katherine's North Channel Swim
Fundraising for CAMFED
Story
On a day between 16th-20th August I will be attempting to swim between Northern Ireland and Scotland, which has only been successfully completed by 88 people to date.
The swim is 21.5 miles (34.6km) as the crow flies, but with very strong tides, the distance I will likely cover is much further. The water is usually between 11-13 degrees centigrade, and with jellyfish potentially up to 2.5m wide and 35m long, there are plenty of dangers involved.
I have been swimming in cold water all winter and then doing lots of long swims through the summer in the sea in Dover Harbour. I completed a 6 hour qualifying swim in 11 degrees in May, and the many more longer swims in Dover, including two 7 hour swims over 2 days and a (very boring) 10 hour swim.
After all this training, I am really hoping I will be able to complete it but it will mostly be up to the weather. So as an offering to the weather gods, I would really appreciate it if you could donate to CAMFED, an excellent charity that supports girls in Africa to access and stay in education where 32.6 million girls of primary and lower secondary school age are out of school.
CAMFED envisions a world in which every child is educated, protected, respected and valued, and grows up to turn the tide of poverty.As the most effective strategy to tackle poverty and inequality, CAMFED multiplies educational opportunities for girls and empowers young women to become leaders of change. Our focus is on girls and young women in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. This is where girls face acute disadvantage and where their empowerment will have a transformative impact.