12-Year-old Gabriel Schreiber teamed up with 23-year-old Congolese refugee Arafat Gatabazi to swim from Big Bay Beach to Robben Island for charity.
Gabriel Schreiber and Arafat Gatabazi joined hundreds of swimmers from across the world in the Freedom Day Swim. The swim starts off at Big Bay Beach towards Robben Island. The swim is 7.5 km across the chilly Atlantic Ocean.
When Arafat came to South Africa 5-years ago as a refugee, he started swimming to Robben Island. He has since done it many times which was the reason, Gabriel approached him for coaching.
The pair trained hard to take part in the swim but Gabriel didn’t want to just swim it. He wanted to do it for a charity close to his heart.
Gabriel became inspired by Chaeli Mycroft’s challenge for people to bet she couldn’t ride a horse for 5 days. Chaeli is an ability activist with Cerebral Palsy who raises funds for disabled children from disadvantaged communities. The funds help the children take part in activities they would usually not be able to enjoy.
Gabriel and Arafat finished the swim with a time of 2 hours and 34 minutes, making Gabriel the second youngest person to complete the swim. They called their efforts the ‘Strokes for Spokes’ challenge. The funds they raised will go to the Chaeli Campaign’s Sport & Recreation Club.
“I’m doing this swim to raise awareness around children who are much less fortunate than me. I’m lucky to have a body that can do almost anything, and I want to remind people of those who can’t move freely like most of us. Chaeli has inspired me by showing that disability can be turned into ability.” – Gabriel Schreiber, The #StrokesForSpokes Challenge
by 