Local humanitarian, Laura Thomson, has embarked on a journey to raise money for a school in Kenya by doing 30 polar dips in 30 days throughout April.
Thomson has called this endeavour the ‘Dipping for Dinners Challenge.’
The school Thomson is raising money for is the Soweto Junior Education Centre, an elementary school located in Kibera, which is on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya.
In Victoria, the non-profit organization Support Soweto Junior School (SSJS) was launched in 2020 to help this school make ends meet, especially when it comes to food security and making sure the children have access to meals.
SSJS says that Kibera has a population of over two million, making it the second largest slum in sub-Saharan Africa.
Making ends meet in this region is incredibly difficult, as unemployment is high and opportunities for work are few and far between.
In Kibera, the average income is less than $2 per day and because of this, poverty is prevalent.
SSJS are aiming to raise $12,500 throughout 2025.
With Thomson’s endeavour of doing 30 dips in 30 days, all she is asking for from the community is a pledge of $1 per day.
This sponsorship of $30 would equate to the amount needed to feed one student for one month.
“Since 2021, we have done three Dipping for Dinners Challenges and raised over $10,000,” said Thomson.
“Learning is next to impossible when tummies are empty, and these donations help students focus on school and playing, instead of worrying about where their next meal will come from.”
Thomson is also inviting those pledging money to her efforts to come watch her doing her daily dips, which she normally does between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. at Little Ross Bay Beach, 1528 Hollywood Crescent.
Additionally, she is challenging anyone to join the Dipping for Dinners Challenge with their own dipping challenge in order to help her spread the word and raise more funds for the cause.
There will be a group dip on April 27th at 10 a.m. at Little Ross Bay for anyone who would like to support by joining in a dip.
SSJS says that the children at Soweto Junior School will be participating ina dip themselves at a local pool on April 5th and 19th in partnership with the Dipping for Dinners Challenge.
To learn more about this cause or to donate, click here.
