water levels were so low that we had to walk most of it and pollution levels were so high that on one section of the river we hit a wall of plastic that we literally could not swim through . Then Henko and the two guys in our back-up team got so violently ill from all the pollution that we had to call it off . But we still considered it a success because we used the fact that we had to stop to get our message across . And people were starting to take notice : the Department of Water Affairs even asked us to identify hot spots for pollution . It was after this that I partnered with the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa ( Wessa ), who provided me with the skills and tools to test river health . In October 2016 , I began swimming the Orange River again , this time with Mandy Uys and for the Rivers for Life campaign , not for myself . Mandy has a background in water studies and so she was able to help me test the water along the way . The data is uploaded to a central database that will help to build a picture of the health of South Africa ’ s rivers . What was
also different about this swim was that we set up talks with seven schools along the way . I spoke to the children about my experiences with water and what happens when you pollute it and Mandy spoke about how to see if water is safe to use .
Why schools ? Kids can change their habits much more easily than adults can .
What has struck you most during the swims ? Wherever there are people , there ’ s pollution .
How bad is SA ’ s water crisis ? Extremely bad . In addition to this drought , people don ’ t know how to look after our water and most of us take it for granted that when you open a tap water will come out . My dad was a farmer , so I ’ ve grown up knowing that when it rains there is money , when it doesn ’ t there ’ s not . It ’ s not just farmers ; without water we ’ re all stuffed . It really is the beginning and the end .
DID YOU KNOW ? It is predicted that South Africa ’ s water demand will exceed supply by 17 % by 2030 . That ’ s according to the 2030 Water Resources Group , of which the Department of Water Affairs is a member .
What do you hope to ultimately achieve ? It ’ s become more about the message than the swim . So now I ’ m setting up Rivers for Life as an official non-profit , because I want to raise funds to do more than talk at schools . I want to provide every school we visit with a clean , sustainable water supply by harvesting and purifying rain water . That ’ s where I ’ m hoping to go .
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GET INVOLVED Follow Andrew Chin ’ s journey on Facebook at Rivers-for-Life . Donate direct via
Wessa www . wessa . org . za / rivers-for-life
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