Becky Horsbrugh -The First British Citizen to Cross the Bangla Channel
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The Sreepur Village would like to send their heartiest congratulations to Becky Horsbrugh who yesterday crossed the 16-km Bangla Channel from Teknaf to Saint Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal.
She is the first British citizen to have completed this challenge
After 4 hours and 45 minutes Becky said, "I am very happy to have completed it successfully," She also told journalists at the finishing line, "Next time I swim this channel I would like one Bangladeshi girl to accompany me."
After seeing a report that 50 children drown every day in Bangladesh compared to 15 annually in the UK, Becky wanted to raise awareness on drowning in Bangladesh. She is currently helping to raise funds for the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh, or CIPRB, which has set up swim schemes throughout the country, helping to keep children safe around water.
So, with these statistics, it is clear to see why The Sreepur Village started the ‘SwimSafe’ programme. With the support of CIPRB, The Sreepur Village started ‘SwimSafe', last summer,’ to teach the children of the village how to swim, a scheme which will take place again this year. At our first swim programme, in July, we were fortunate to have Becky visit The Sreepur Village where she helped the instructors of CIPRB to teach our mothers and children how to swim.