The date for the 2021 swimathon is to be decided.
Every year my brother and I swim our ages in kilometers to raise funds for the First Love Children’s Home in Siliguri, West Bengal which was founded by our granddad Robert Clinton for supporting orphaned, semi-orphaned and neglected children. My brother and I will swim the 29k swimathon challenge (13 and 16 kilometers respectively), with help from two more swimmers.
This year, however, instead of just raising money to be used where needed. We are given the specific project, to part pay the purchase of a van for a Mobile Library for kids at the Tea Gardens near Siliguri plus supporting reading room for kids at the Mohurgaon Tea Garden that we funded last year, and paying for a tutor to teach 90-100 children reading for the duration of 1 year. We intend to raise 2 lakhs 50 thousand which cover the project and the one year salary of one Teacher.
The children's home started in India in 2009 and is part of a global initiative by First Love, a USA based NGO which has similar efforts to protect at-risk children in Kenya, Nepal, and Thailand as well. I am well aware of it's good work, and my parents have supported the efforts since 2002. The Indian home is registered and currently has over 40 kids under its care. The pledges raised in 2017 were used for installing a Fire Safety System in the home. While the pledges raised in 2018 were used for paying all the students' school fees and stationery for one year.
