RECORD NUMBER TAKES PART IN SAFRA CHARITY SWIM

As the event came to a close on 16 Oct, SAFRA Swim for Hope 2016 saw a record of close to 2,000 national servicemen and their families swim for a charitable cause and completing about 130,000 laps.

A total of $101,400.80 was raised at the event, which ran from 14 to 16 Oct at five SAFRA clubs, for the three beneficiaries Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Care Fund, Community Chest and Special Olympics Singapore.

New at this year's Swim for Hope was the Families for Life category, in which more than 150 parent-and-child pairs participated.

Senior Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, who presented the prizes to the winners and a cheque to the beneficiaries at SAFRA Tampines at the close of the event, said: "We are happy that we raised over $100,000 this year, which is far more than what we managed to last year. Besides the money raised, I think more importantly, this event has facilitated unit cohesion and promoted the Singaporean spirit of giving."

Swim for Hope 2015 raised about $98,000.

Dr Maliki added: "Many charity events require you to donate money, but SAFRA Swim for Hope goes beyond that. We want people who have the means to donate to have the heart to donate as well."

Mr Khoo Wee Lay and his son Marcus, the champions of the Families for Life category, agreed with Dr Maliki: "Personally, I don't believe in donation drives that just require you to donate money. I believe that events like this are more meaningful as it requires donors to give their time, which is something that cannot be earned back once given away."

SAF units such as the Naval Diving Unit (NDU) showed strong support for the event.

When asked about NDU's participation, Commander NDU, Colonel (COL) Foong Kok Pun, said: "We got our divers to participate in this event to show them how their tough training not only prepares them for military operations but also allows them to give back to the society."

"We want to use this charity event to engage the divers' 'head, heart and guts'. 'Head' refers to the knowledge that for every lap that they swim, they will be making a difference to someone's life. For the 'heart' part, it is knowing that National Service is more than just taking part in military exercises, it is also about giving back to the nation in every way we can.

"Lastly, we want to challenge the divers to step up to the plate and embrace challenges. We want them to achieve things that no one even dared to dream, and that is where 'guts' come in."