Dani Cameron’s first reaction when she reached the shores of Cap Gris-Nez, in Pas-de-Calais, France, after swimming across the English Channel last weekend, was to wave the flag Mauritian. The English swimmer had a thought for her mother, Mauritian. In twelve hours of crawl, Dani Cameron, 51, not only took up a sporting challenge through this performance, but also paid tribute to the memory of her mother and raised funds for people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases (NDD). ). In Strumpshaw, a small village in Norfolk in the East of England where she runs a pub with her husband Bob, she has something to tell her customers…
Swimming the English Channel from England to France is considered to be the most difficult challenge in the world. Expert word. Proud Norwich resident Dani Cameron did it. At 51, a birthday she celebrates this week, this British woman, half Mauritian on her mother’s side, took up the challenge that hundreds of people undertake every year.
A part that counts
Her first thoughts, she confided to us, three days after her exploit, were for her mother: “My mother, Marie Gladys Velvindron was born on the old sugar estate of The Mount. She arrived in England in the 1960s and worked there for most of her life as a nurse and, later, a teaching assistant.”
It was above all for her mother that Dani Cameron swam 21 miles (33.8 km) in water with a temperature ranging between 19°C and 20°C, during this summer period in Europe. “My mother was instrumental in my swimming practice. She was pivotal in having me swim as a child as she couldn’t swim herself,” says the swimmer, who continues: “ I was swimming for my region, but I gave up at the age of 17. I hadn’t swum for 27 years until my mother passed away. I started swimming again 7 years ago. My mum’s death got me back into swimming. When she died, I lost direction. I would be a good mum, but I had nothing else. Outdoor marathon swimming gives me the head space I need to process life. I then got caught up in other swimmers adventures which ultimately made me think, maybe I can do it.”
Born in Norfolk, Dani Cameron waved the Mauritian flag after swimming for 12 hours. Her Mauritian origins, she says, are not only written in her genes, but also in her journey, her daily life: “I am half Mauritian and that part matters to me . I look more like my Mauritian family than my English one. My lounge is decorated with dodos and Mauritian oil paintings, as well as tartan, as my husband has Scottish heritage. I think it’s important to know where your roots are. ”
She raises £5,000 for MDN
Dani Cameron also dedicated her performance to people suffering from MDN, motor neuron diseases characterized by a progressive loss of motor neurons leading to motor skills disorders and progressive paralysis. “My best friend Al died of MDN. And honestly, I couldn’t get over it. I lost my mum, then my brother the year after. Following that, my best friend Debs was found dead. When I called Al to tell him, he said: ‘ While we are sharing, I have MND.’ Al was one of my oldest friends. He was an uncle figure to my daughters. MND was so cruel. I couldn’t believe my eyes but because I was reeling from my mum, brother and Debs, I didn’t cope with his death very well”, confides Dani Cameron. By swimming in the cold waters of the English Channel, she took the opportunity to raise awareness of these diseases and thanks to the fundraising campaign in which she was already involved, she raised just over £5,000.