Claire and Pauline's 30 mile swim for charity

Aim

Claire and Pauline aim to raise £2000 by undertaking mixed environment swims both in local swimming pools and the sea.

Claire Turbutt and Pauline Mckenna have committed to a challenge to swim 15 miles each in aid of Love Zimbabwe Charity. The funds raised will be used to purchase a community mini-bus for the use of people at the Chinamhora Community Centre.

The challenge started in June 2023 and will finish by the end of August 2023. As trustees of the charity, Claire and Pauline are undertaking mixed environment swims in local swimming pools and the sea, with the aim of raising £2,000.

The bus will be picked up from Durban, South Africa and will cost a total of £15,000, including customs and duty clearance. The balance of the money will come from a legacy left to Love Zimbabwe charity from the Marion Harvey Trust Fund.

The new vehicle will replace a 17-seater bus that was shipped to Zimbabwe by the trustees in 2019. This bus already had a high mileage at the time and was donated to the charity by Capitol of Abergavenny.

The Chinamhora Community Centre serves to cater for children and parents of disabled children who come from a radius of 10 kilometres. The bus is used for many purposes, including transportation for the sick to go to the local hospital or clinic. Additionally, outreach projects such as sustainable agriculture, health and sanitation issues require the vehicle. Another use is to attend local community meetings that decide many issues that are important to people. The swim challenge is 30 miles long, which is the average distance a rural Zimbabwean would need to travel to get medical care, according to the World Bank. Without the centre's bus, this would have to be done on foot or by taxi, which many couldn't afford.

In the past few years, Love Zimbabwe has run cultural exchange programmes, bringing university students from the UK and USA. The bus is essential in taking the students into the community to take part in various projects.

Pauline, who was born in Zimbabwe and has visited the community centre several times, has seen the impact that a mini-bus has on the community. Both Claire and Pauline feel the urgency to realise this project and are fully committed to achieving their goal.

Please give if you are able to help us get a vehicle out to our Centre staff to continue their amazing support for those living with the consequences of poverty and climate change in Chinamhora.

From all of us at Love Zimbabwe, thank you!

This project successfully funded on 11th September 2023