Swimming for Mental Health
Amber Bates and Mudita Vihari following one of their swims
When Amber Bates and Mudita Vihari heard about the not-for-profit organisation Get The Boys A Lift (GTBAL) they were inspired to give their love of swimming a purpose beyond the simple joy of getting into the sea.
GTBAL, an organisation providing the people of West Wales with a free mental health support service, is largely funded by sales of its coffee and clothing, based in Dew Street, Haverfordwest, and online, and from donations. (You can read more about GTBAL here at Pembrokeshire.Online.)
Mudita and Amber decided that between 22 August and 22 October they would fundraise to help support this excellent work and they would do it by swimming the equivalent distance of the English Channel. The 22 miles was to be broken up over approximately 15 shorter swims along the Pembrokeshire coastline.
Both women are keen swimmers. Mudita experienced the call of open water in her childhood growing up in Ireland, and Amber from her childhood on the east coast of Australia. Both also have experience of the value of good mental health support.
The women have been recording their swims on their Facebook page Mudita N Amber Swim with a video of each swim undertaken. Despite jellyfish stings and some bumpy water, they are well on the way to their goal.
They say: “It might be a tough time for some folk in our local community and being able to access free counselling might just be the support they need to get through. If you can contribute financially, great! If things are tight for you right now, you can still support us by raising money for GTBAL’s free counselling service by sharing our JustGiving page.”
If you would like to know more, go to the Facebook Page.
To donate : https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/muditaandamber-swim
Mudita ‘n Amber (@muditaamberswim22) • Instagram photos and videos
To find out more about the services provided by GTBAL: https://gtbal.co.uk/
