Community Development Darryl Fairbairn Memorial Fund

Many of you will remember that in 2007 and again in 2017 some of my friends and I got together and swam the length of Lake Wanaka (Makarora to Wanaka Township), 45 km, in a relay. The money we raised has gone into providing children and their families, in the Upper Clutha area, to receive counselling support when they are going through times of trauma and/or grief. Both times we have done the relay, we have been completely blown away by the support of the community (not just local, but national and international). However, on the flip side, living in "paradise" in this part of the world does not protect and shelter us from the struggles of life. I have seen an increase just in the past year, of people accessing the fund. Hopefully this reflects people's awareness of the fund and not an increase in need.

Due to the large number of people accessing this fund, I realise that it is going to need a regular top-up if it is going to continue being able to help people. So, as a result of this, I have decided to attempt to swim the lake by MYSELF (no relay this time). I made this crazy decision about 9 weeks ago, when I decided I needed a goal to motivate me! My training is going really well, I am loving it (which is the most important thing), I have had psychological and medical clearance (yep that means I'm crazy enough to give it a crack), and I still have 3 weeks of hard training ahead of me.

You may ask "What has swimming down the lake got to do with providing money for people to receive counselling?" My answer is A HUGE AMOUNT. These people are facing very challenging times already, and the added financial stress could be the hurdle for them between getting help, or not. I see swimming down the lake as a huge personal challenge, because before this, the furthest I had ever swum in open water at any one time was 4 km! So, despite me being a "swimmer", don't think this is going to be easy for me.

As a result of my own past traumas, and subsequent mental health issues, I want to raise the profile of overall mental health/wellness. If we can help children and their families, earlier on in their struggles, then hopefully they can build resilience and have better mental health.

I hope you will join me and follow my journey through this challenge, and reach deep into your pockets and donate, so we can help members of the community