On 1st October I swam approximately 6km from the lighthouse at Korakas to the fishing village of Skala Sikamineas on the north coast of Lesvos. Anyone who knows me (and my lack of athletic prowess) will possibly question my sanity, and want to know "why?".
Here's the reason: Many thousands of desperate people, fleeing civil war and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, have made the hazardous journey to Greece. Many have initially arrived on Lesvos in small boats, having travelled at the mercy of smugglers, the weather and myriad other dangers.
Lighthouse Relief (LHR) was formed in 2015 by a small group of volunteers working in Skala Sikamineas, a tiny fishing village on the north-east coast of Lesvos, where thousands of refugees were arriving every day in rubber dinghies. The nearby lighthouse at Korakas on the northern tip of the island inspired the name of the charity. It was the location of many landings, and became the lookout post where volunteers and staff assisted rescue efforts with other NGOs and the Greek authorities.
Although refugee crossings from Turkey still occur, LHR has more recently focussed all its humanitarian work on mainland Greece, where asylum seekers are in desperate need.
In 2015 Yusra and Sarah Mardini were fleeing the war in Syria. Along with 18 others, they attempted the crossing from Turkey in a small dinghy. After the engine failed, Yusra and Sarah jumped into the sea and swam for three hours, pulling the dinghy to safety on the north shore of Lesvos. Yusra went on to compete in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, and now lives in Germany. Sarah returned to Lesvos as a humanitarian aid worker. Theirs is an inspiring story.... so, to build on this inspiration, and to help mark the 7th anniversary of LHR's formation, I swam from Korakas to Skala Sikamineas to raise money to support LHR's vital services in Athens. This was a wildly ambitious plan, and therefore I set an ambitious fundraising target of €1 per metre - so, please help me to raise the €6.000!! Any donation, however small, will be incredibly valuable.
