Al-Qalam 
The total 41km swim distance by the pupils represents the total length of the Gaza Strip, writes Nabeelah Shaikh.
In an inspiring display of determination and solidarity, pupils from Hartley Road Primary School and Orient Islamic School in Durban recently completed a 41km swim to raise awareness and financial support for the people of Gaza.
The 41km distance represents the length of the Gaza Strip, and the swim was undertaken as a meaningful gesture to draw attention to the ongoing challenges faced by Palestinians. The initiative was the brainchild of Firdous Vally, a swim coach at Hartley Road Primary School, who came up with the idea during a casual conversation with another coach.
“I was literally doing physical education with another coach and I looked at her and said, ‘What is the length of the Gaza strip?’ And she said ‘41km’. I responded to her and said that our girls are more than capable of swimming that total distance. So why not do something for a cause? Our girls are training in any case. We can just get them to put what they’re doing towards a good purpose,’” Vally recalled.
She said it was just that random conversation that took off, and Swim for Gaza was born.
The children set out to complete the 41km swim while also raising a goal amount of R41 000 to be donated towards the Africa Muslim Agency’s relief efforts in Gaza.
Vally said she was extremely proud of all the kids for their efforts and that they had not only reached their R41 000 fundraising goal but also exceeded it. The total amount raised was R81 700, while the total distance swam by all participants combined was 74 kilometres.
“The event was a collective effort, with pupils from both schools coming together to swim the 41km. The first leg of the swim took place at the Capital K Swim at Midmar Dam on 24 November. The swimmers were as young as 8 years old and made an incredible effort to complete the distance, not only meeting their goal distance but exceeding it by the end of the final event, which was held at the Hartley Road Primary School pool on 30 November,” said Vally.
She said since the Capital K is a registered swim, they took the total distance they completed at that swim and calculated it at the end of the swim. They then calculated what the remaining distance to cover was in order to reach their 41km goal.
“We swam that remaining distance during a final event at Hartley Road Primary’s pool. For the entire initiative, the swimmers worked together in teams, with around 20 pupils from the Orient Islamic School and 16 from Hartley Road Primary School participating. The enthusiasm for the initiative spread quickly, and additional children from outside the two schools also joined in to participate. Even my own parents came from as far as Johannesburg, to join us for the swim,” said Vally. She said despite the challenges of swimming long distances, the children were motivated by the greater cause they were supporting.
One participant, Hawwa Bayat, reflected on her experience, saying: “There were times where I just wanted to get out of the dam and go home at the Capital K swim. But I always reminded myself that I was doing this for Gaza and that kept me motivated to complete my swim.”
Hawwa, who has been swimming since she was two and a half years old, swam a total of 12 km during the course of the events.
“It was the first time I’ve swum this distance. The longest I swam before this was one kilometre. It was a lovely experience and it was about being there with everyone else; all of us were doing this for the same thing. It was our love for the cause. We are proud of what we have achieved and we hope we can continue to have more swims of this nature to help the people of Gaza,” said Bayat.
Hawwa’s mother, Zarina Bayat, said the children’s collective achievement was not only a personal triumph but also a powerful demonstration of what can be accomplished when people come together for a common cause.
“I’ve watched all the swimmers really grow as a team and in their strengths. To see the camaraderie between them was amazing,” she said.
Bayat said from the parents to the children that it was lovely to see the excitement, motivation, and passion for making a difference.
“I’m really proud of coach Firdous for making this happen and helping the children to achieve something as great as this,” she said.
