Personal message

Hello future life changers! My name's Dustin Hayman. I'm a 24 year old from Durban and I've made a life changing decision to swim across the english channel.

The Japanese have a proverb, "Nana korobi ya oki" (literally: seven falls, eight getting up) means fall down seven times and get up eight. This never really ever made sense to me, until the day I had to get up that eigth time.

Both my parents passed away last year, my mom due to a speeding taxi in a pedestrian zone, my dad towards the end of the year after an 11-year battle with cancer.  One of the greatest things I remember about my dad was how he reacted every time a little child came in for treatment. No matter how sick he felt my dad would make it his mission to try make the little one smile or not be scared. Arm wrestling a little boy, stealing a little girls doll while she chased him around the chemo room, all this was to try make the little ones feel normal and relaxed in the face of what they were up against. However, it often ended up with the little one teaching him and all the older patients a thing or two about how to be strong against what’s been thrown at them along with bringing smiles to the faces of everyone in the chemo room! LIfe isn't always fair, it's even less fair when it invoves a little one that hasn't had the opportunity to experience life fully and is now burdened with the results of cancer.

For this reason I'm dedicating my swim to not just my dad and mom, but all those little ones that have to endure something far beyond what any little child should ever have to face and I’m dedicating this swim to the way these little ones touch our lives forever. An organization that embodies all these ideals and who I hope to raise funds for is "Rainbows and Smiles" in memory of my dad and his amazing spirit and in memory of the little ones who put a smile on his face when he needed it the most.  "Rainbows and Smiles" is a childhood cancer foundation that is dedicated to supporting children suffering from this dreadful illness as well as providing resources and treatement to those less fortunate.

A background on the swim if you don't know about it. The swim is across the busiest shipping lane in the world, in 14-degree water with only a speedo allowed. It's non stop with no assistance allowed and takes around 15 hours on average and the shortest possible route is 31km, which is basically impossible due to the currents, on average it's around 51km with the longest recorded swim being 98km.  811 people have completed the swim since 1875 while 8 have died, sounds like a lot but 2049 people have climbed Everest in only 40 years.

The English Channel is seen as the ultimate endurance event in the world, I've secured my tide through a boat called the pathfinder and sanctioned by the channel swimming association.

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” | T.S. Eliot

 
I'm taking a very good friend of mine, and a fellow DHS old boy, Kyle Raffle with me on my swim mission. He will be the person that makes sure I feed on time and take in enough liquids etc. and he will be the person that motivates me when I start feeling the effects of hypothermia, jelly fish stings, exhaustion and all the things involved in doing the swim. 

 

While this swim may seem like a massive undertaking, compared to what these little kids have to go through on a daily basis it is incomparable and insignificant. I hope through the swim I can raise awareness and funds to make their Lives and the lives of their families that little bit easier.  Please donate; any amount no matter how small has a direct impact. 

 

I have paid most of the trips expenses myself but as a student it has obviously been a huge challenge (if you would like to contribute to my personal expenses or have alternate options for a donation please contact  either myself at [email protected] or [email protected] for my personal bank details - all funds raised through back a buddy will be used for Rainbows and Smiles and their mission to make a difference in the lives of children fighting cancer)

 

Thank you all so much

Love Dustin

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. –Maya Angelou

 

#DoingItforDAD  #DoingItforMOM #CozJedMatters and #DoingItforalltheLITTLEONES

 

Email: [email protected]/[email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dustin.hayman.1

Cell: 082 4886234

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