I have been able to swim for as long as I can remember. Swimming is one of the joys of my life. I love the feeling you get as you glide through water, watching the light dance, bend, twist and glitter.

Swimming makes me feel strong and it makes me feel well. When I have swam, I feel I can conquer anything that life throws at me. It helps me manage my stress. It makes me feel happy and energised. I recommend swimming to everyone.

When people ask what is the secret of managing my working career, I always say swimming. While I swim, the answers to problems emerge, new ideas surface. My brain both rests and sparks.

I now swim in the river Frome each morning at 8.00 with a wonderful group of women and men. We call ourselves the Chalford Dippers. So swimming has now also given me a further connection to nature and the happy friendship that comes from joining with people who have a shared passion. The companionship, laughter and even the singing each morning has brought me so much joy.

One of our group doesn't know how to swim and has had a lifelong fear of water. And yet she gets in with us to experience the cold rush and sensations all over her body (the average water temperature is 8 degrees), with her feet still planted firmly on the bottom. She explains that she never got the opportunity to learn to swim when she was a child and that she grew up with an absolute fear of water. Something that she is only now beginning to overcome.

When I was small, my mother always used to say that she swam for England. Only later did I discover that she meant that she swam for the English in Malaysia, where she grew up. She always took us swimming. It was just something we did and loved doing. I was lucky.

When I was pregnant for the first time with my daughter, Ella, I was surprised to learn that drowning is the largest cause of death in children under 5. I decided that swimming and full confidence in water was going to be one of the gifts I would pass on to both my girls. When both daughters were only weeks old, I submerged them in a swimming pool and let go. Instinctively, they started swimming and they have never stopped.

This year, on 6th July, Ella and I plan to join The Swoosh swim, swimming 6k down the river Avon in Devon, England.

We will be accompanied by hundreds of other swimmers all raising money to help young kids who do not have an opportunity to learn to swim. The money we raise will go to Level Water, a charity which helps disadvantaged kids get access to swimming lessons. We hope that this in turn will help them feel confident and strong and able to face the world.

Everyone should have the opportunity to learn to swim and fall in love with the water.

If you could make a donation, and so a gift to those kids, of £1 or $1 per kilometre that we swim, Ella and I would be very grateful. Of course, you could pledge more if you wish and that would be wonderful.

Many, many thanks. We’ll let you know how we get on doing the Swoosh.

Vanella & Ella