Stephen swims extra mile for charity

FOR Kloof’s Stephen Hunt, giving back to those in need is as essential as breathing.

It is for this reason the avid swimmer will take on the momentous task of swimming 16 miles during the aQuellé Midmar Mile weekend.

Not one to tackle a project half-heartedly, the 36-year-old has set himself a fund-raiser limit of R20 000 to benefit both the Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa (CHOC) and the Duzi Umngeni Conservation Trust (DUCT). At the time of going to print, he has raised R8 370.

“For the last 15 years of my life I have supporting charities. I’m a past member of the Berea Round Table and I am now a proud member of the Kloof Round Table,” he said.

He has been a swimmer since he was young and, as a way to merge his two passions, he set up the fund-raiser link. With a number of Midmar Mile mileage under his belt, he is confident in his abilities to reach his goal.

He trains every day from 5am to 7am and clocks in between three and four kilometres with each swim. On the weekends he heads down to the beach and braves the open sea from uShaka Marine World to Suncoast Casino.

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“I’ve had one or two close calls in the ocean,” said Stephen. “The first time I saw a shark, it came in close but left me alone. In the second incident,” he hesitates briefly before continuing with the story. “I was swimming and as I reached out during a freestyle stroke, my hand touched a fin. I screamed like a little girl,” he finished unashamedly. “It put me off training for the day. When I was back on the shore, I looked out and saw it was a pod of dolphins.”

Giving to charities rewards him spiritually.

“You either see the money being spent on something that will be around for ages, or you see the look on the children’s faces and it’s very heartwarming,” said Stephen.

His father passed away from cancer and, even though CHOC works directly with children, the feelings stirred up by the organisation’s impact encouraged him to support it. He opted to support DUCT because of its pertinent projects regarding river health.

Once he completes his Dusi goal, the ambitious dad will begin his training for a 250km, once-off swim and attempt to break a Guinness World Record. The previous record holder swam 225km as a relay swim. To complete this goal, he aims to swim a minimum of 30km per day over an eight-day period.

To support Stephen’s fund-raiser for CHOC and DUCT, visit https://kydrin.co.za/goals/793.

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