I swam for the women I work for

Last year, just before Christmas, my colleague Sofie got an email from London Marathon Events. They were planning a brand new event in Hyde Park, a mile-long swim in the Serpentine, and wanted to know if we would take some places. I immediately said I’d do it. I’ve always enjoyed swimming, and I regularly swam longer than a mile, so I thought it would be easy.

Facing my fear

Obviously I was wrong. I soon remembered that I have a fear of cold water. I recalled all those holidays when I refused to get in the sea if it wasn’t at least 28⁰ outside. But of course, as it was still winter, I forgot about that pretty quickly and filled my head with thoughts of summer and refreshing dips in lakes and lidos.

When the time came to face my fear it was better than I thought. I picked a good location; the Balearic Sea. I was in Valencia for the weekend and despite the unseasonably horrible weather, it was actually fun getting thrashed by freezing cold waves. And I felt brave; my friend stayed very much on dry land, tasked with taking pictures of the momentous occasion.

Swimming obsessed

And from then on swimming took over my life. I was either thinking about when I could next swim or worrying about how I couldn’t swim that week. And all the while I was trying to fundraise as much as possible for Womankind. I tried to mix up the Facebook posts and emails with pictures of me looking silly in my wetsuit, my passion for supporting amazing women around the world and the difficulties of training. And it worked – my generous family and friends (and some very generous Womankind supporters) helped me to raise £952 – all of which will make a real difference to our partners.

My inspiration: the women we work for

In one Facebook post I shared the story of Fanta in Sierra Leone. In my first year at Womankind I worked on the BBC Lifeline Appeal, a short video shown on the BBC. Fanta was part of that film and her bravery has stuck with me ever since.

Fanta now has her own business altering clothes

When Fanta was 18 she was forced to marry a man of 50. Pretty soon in to the marriage he started cheating on her and after her first child was born he became violent. Fanta went to aunt for help, but she simply said that Fanta had no choice but to stay. Her husband then forced her to have another child by taking away her contraception. But when she did, his violence worsened. He hit her with anything he could find and eventually he physically threw her out of the house. With nowhere else to turn, she sought refuge with a friend. Luckily, the friend knew about Women’s Peace and Justice Project (WPJP), and they went there together.

“They encourage me, treat me nice, talk to me. When I came here I was crying and stressed. But through the counselling I feel relieved and calm.”

WPJP handled Fanta’s case and convinced the police to prosecute her husband. Sadly, he ran away and managed to evade justice. But for Fanta, the changes were already starting. Her confidence was raised and WPJP helped her get onto a tailoring course. Now she has her own business and can provide for her children.

“If there was no WPJP, I don’t think I could have survived. Now I know that women can stand on their own without a husband. But now I have my own money and I control it. Peace in my life is an important thing.”

Turning a corner

As I turned the last corner of the Serpentine lake and saw that the finish was within reach, a thought flashed through my mind. Up until that point I had been focusing on breathing, kicking, not going off course, all the things you need to think about when outdoor swimming. But suddenly images of women in countries around the world entered my head. I kept them there while I pushed myself even harder to swim the fastest I could. Finishing in my personal best time was an amazing achievement, but it wasn’t just about me. It was about Fanta. And Sarah, and Grace, and Musu, and all the thousands of women I’ve been lucky enough to work for at Womankind.

If the Swim Serpentine sounds like something you’d like, email Sofie@womankind.org.uk or ring 020 7549 0360.