A GROUP of children and adults have raised more than R80 000 through the swimming for Gaza initiative.
Forty pupils from Hartley Road Primary School and 20 pupils from Orient Islamic School took part in a two-stage fund-raising event.
The participants were originally meant to swim 41km, which is the length of the Gaza strip in Palestine, but the turnout was bigger than expected and just over 74km was covered in the water.
The first stage was held at Midmar Dam on November 24 during the Capital-K race. The second stage was at Hartley Road Primary on November 30.
Firdaus Vally, the swim coach at Hartley Road Primary, said the goal was to raise R1 for every metre completed.
The money will be given to the African Muslim Agency, who will disburse funds and resources to Gaza.
“All of the participants had to do a collective swim according to their strengths. We later added up the distance," said Vally.
“We opted to do a 41km swim because that is the length of the Gaza strip. We also opted to first have the swim at the dam, to keep with the saying 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'. We went for the ‘from the dams to the pools’ theme."
She said although South Africans were far away, "the genocide touches my heart and the hearts of many pupils".
Aneesah Loonat, 30, a sports coordinator at Orient Islamic School, said 20 pupils swam at the Midmar Dam, the youngest being eight and the eldest 15. Six pupils swam 500m, while 14 swam 1km. Loonat also swam a kilometre.
“A lot of the work we do at Orient Islamic is in support of Gaza. We even changed our sporting houses at school to signify Gaza and Palestine. It's not just the fact that it's an Islamic school, but it is also because this is a humanitarian crisis. The children resonate a lot with that."
She said funds raised came from donations or sponsors, either from private companies or the parents of the participants. If a child swam 500 metres, then that child would have had to raise R500.
Humeira Limbada, 12, and her nine-year-old twin sisters, Aisha and Fatimah Zahra, swam 500m at Midmar Dam.
Their mother, Shazia Limbada, said her family was grateful to have been part of the event as it taught them a spirit of selflessness.
“The opportunity to help anyone is a blessing in itself. You may not have the finances to support Gaza in the way you want to, so use what you have to make a difference."
She said Humeira was aware of the situation in Gaza.
“She is aware of the genocide and the oppression that is occurring upon the Palestinian nation. She responds and is encouraged to by spiritual means. She includes the oppressed in her daily duas (prayers)."
Aaliyah Dangor, the marketing manager for the African Muslim Agency, said the funds raised was likely to be used to create a medical tent in Gaza as well as to purchase blankets, mattresses and winter essentials.
“We have been working in Gaza for many years. We initially started providing food, water and shelter. Then we started with clothing and social support because there are a lot of orphans and traumatised people on the ground.
"We try to provide baby hampers as well because, while bombs are being dropped, there are mothers delivering babies. We also provide formula and diapers because they are expensive on that side."
She said their current focus was on winter.
“We are also trying to erect a medical tent since the hospitals are continuously being targeted. This is not the first nor the last campaign we are a part of. We have run for Gaza and cycled for Gaza. We try to team up with people who can contribute in whatever capacity they can,” said Dangor.