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We both completed the swim today, in far from ideal conditions. There were high winds and squally showers which meant we were probably not as quick as we would have hoped. Our times have yet to be published but you can be assured we will not be close to the Elite swimmers who completed the mile in about 18 minutes.

Thank you to all those that have already donated, if not please make our efforts worthwhile and help us to help as many children as possible.

 

In 2006 our eldest daughter, Rosie, was born with a cleft lip and palate. Thanks to the excellent care she received from the NHS at both Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen’s Medical Centre she has had her cleft repaired.

In the developing world, families are often too poor and many do not even know treatment is available for them. Over 75% of cleft cases in the developing world go untreated, often resulting in children living a lifetime of isolation, unable to go to school, make friends and distanced from their communities and all because of a facial deformity that can be repaired in as little as 45 minutes and for only £150.

We are taking part in the Great East Swim which is a one-mile outdoor swim taking place in Alton Water reservoir, near Ipswich, to raise money for Operation Smile.

We have both been training hard over the last few months and are looking forward to the challenge of completing out first open water swim. What would really make it worthwhile would be if could raise a substantial amount of money and change some of these children lives.

Operation Smile provides free reconstructive surgery to children and young adults suffering from facial deformities. Clefts are the 3rd most common birth defect worldwide and it is estimated that a baby is born every 2½ minutes with a cleft which can affect their ability to breathe, eat, drink and speak.

Since its foundation in 1982, Operation Smile has grown to be one of the largest volunteering organisations of its kind. Working with a team of more than 5,000 medical volunteers in 51 countries, Operation Smile has changed the lives of over 120,000 children.

Partnering with local hospitals, Operation Smile provides all the medical equipment and supplies needed to ensure that every patient receives the same standard of care as they would in the western world. Operation Smile also provides free training and education programmes to local experts to ensure our work continues all year-round.

Find out more at http://www.operationsmile.org.uk/

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now and help us to help children like Rosie have the opportunities for cleft repair surgery which we in the UK take for granted.