This coming Sunday on August 20th, I’ll be swimming from Asia to Europe when I take part in the Bosphorus Cross - Continental Swim Race at the heart of Istanbul. I’ll be raising money for the charity Refugee Biryani & Bananas who support refugee families who cross from Turkey to the Greek island of Chios and are currently trying to support those affected by the recent shipwreck off the coast.

79 people are confirmed dead, 104 people have been rescued whilst the others remain missing. It is reported that the majority of the people who have been rescued are male and that women and children were kept locked up in the hold below.

Those who have been lucky enough to survive this treacherous journey are often families who are interned in the Vial Refugee Camp - 8 -10 in container boxes.  The camp was designed for 1000 people and at its height hosted 7000 people. Although there are much fewer people now on all the Greek Islands and in Vial Camp of Chia, the situation for them is still as bad.

Refugee Biryani & Bananas started in 2015 with the simple plan to provide food and moral support to family arrivals.  They are now doing their best to fill in essential gaps in terms of safeguarding, moral support and welfare as well as offering some light relief to people whose future is so uncertain,  Some charities reach from afar.  The Biryani team ( along with local community groups) are right there to hold people's hand - something they so desperately need.

I was inspired to swim the Bosphorus after watching The Swimmers about Sara and Yusra Mardini, two Syrian sisters forced to flee war torn Damascus where they were training for the Olympics. They had to swim for hours in choppy Mediterranean seas to reach Greece as asylum seekers before going on to complete at the Rio Olympic Games.

I’m not quite ready to take on the 6.4 kilometre swim but I will be. Please dig deep it’s a bloody long way!

Catherine xx