Hi, I’m Jaimie! I am from Cambodia but now live in the UK. I’m taking on the Brighton & Hove Aquathlon (1.5km swim and 10km run) to hopefully raise £500 for Hile Teuk Kampuchea (HTK) — and I’d love your support!

In Cambodia, drowning is the leading cause of death for children aged 5–14.

Hile Teuk Kampuchea (HTK) — meaning “Swim Cambodia” in Khmer — is the first Cambodian organisation with a mission to reduce child drowning and related injuries by educating communities about water safety, drowning prevention, safe rescue techniques, CPR and essential swimming skills.

HTK was founded in 2022 in partnership with the UK-based charity SWIM (Safety When It Matters) Cambodia, who has supported and been working in Cambodia since 2012.

As a Cambodian, this cause hits home and is especially close to my heart. I feel incredibly fortunate to have learned how to swim, and I want more Cambodian children and young people to have that same opportunity — not only to enjoy the benefits of swimming, but to have the skills and knowledge that could save their own life or someone else’s.

Water safety is also a huge part of my life here in the UK. I currently work as a beach lifeguard with the RNLI and hold both the National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification (NVBLQ) and National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ). I see how important water safety, prevention and lifesaving skills are, which makes fundraising for HTK’s mission so meaningful.

As HTK don’t have an international fundraising platform yet, I’m raising funds for SWIM Cambodia and all funds raised will be transferred to support HTK.

Every donation, no matter how big or small, will help support HTK’s work to give Cambodians access to vital swimming and water-safety education.

If you can donate, thank you. If you can’t, sharing this fundraiser could be just as valuable. I really appreciate any support you can give to help more Cambodian children learn the skills they need to be safer around water.

Learn more about Hile Teuk Kampuchea: hileteuk.org

Learn more about SWIM Cambodia: https://swimcambodia.org/