THE resilience built up by a 60-year-old person with a disability from surviving an accident, and having had surgeries, must surely have worked in his favour when he swam the Midmar Mile Charity Challenge recently.

Kloof resident Mike Emanuel managed to raise about R18 600 for the NPO Happy Bundles which funds and supports children with cancer.

This was Emanuel’s second consecutive year of taking part in the charity challenge, and in 2025 he raised about R23 000.

As for the Midmar Mile, Emanuel has participated in about 10 of them.

His preparation this year involved consistent, regular swims at a swimming pool at a local gym, with Emanuel managing about 49km in the water in January in the build-up to the Midmar Mile.

This, for Emanuel, is worth all the sweat, dedication and commitment because it is a lot more than self satisfaction.

“Probably the thing that tugs at the heartstrings is that one is able to give to kids with a disease; cancer is a horrible disease, there is no definitive cure for it, so to be able to donate and help a child with cancer is incredible,” said Emanuel.

The fulfilment for Emanuel also comes from the fellowship enjoyed with others during the Midmar Mile and the camaraderie shared with those at Happy Bundles.

“Wow what an amazing event, I have now done it for the past two years and have loved every minute. One is able to connect with like-minded people giving their all for a common cause,” said Emanuel about the Midmar Mile Charity Challenge.

The charity event took place on February 5 and 6 before the main events.

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“The vibe and energy at this year’s event was so incredible that I was enticed to swim six miles on the first day and four miles on the second day, as well as an extra one mile with my seconder, Blake Crawford, on the Saturday,” said Emanuel.

Emanuel said this year, about 44 swimmers committed to the cause of raising funds for Happy Bundles took part in the charity challenge, with an estimated R500 000 raised for the NPO.

Up next for Emanuel is the Oceans 8 Charity Swim scheduled for June and the Robben Island swim in Cape Town.

The latter is a swim of 7.5km in very cold water conditions, normally about 13 to 14 degrees, said Emanuel, who added that it starts at Murray’s Harbour on Robben Island and finishes at Bloubergstrand at Big Bay Beach.

“This is my big aim, depending on how fundraising goes. I am very keen and interested, I want to swim the Robben Island Swim in Cape Town,” said Emanuel.

The 60-year-old is an above knee amputee and a triple and double heart bypass surgery survivor. He has also had four lower back surgeries as a result of a car accident and a knee replacement to the one and only knee he has left.

However, he humbly highlights that this neither makes him boastful nor seek sympathy in any way.

“Rather, it will hopefully inspire others to get involved and not allow their disabilities to hold them back. As persons with disabilities, we are actually perfectly fit and are able to make a difference in someone’s life.

“I guess the point I am trying to make is that we all have challenges and face adversity in our lives but we can choose not to let this hold us back and help those that are less fortunate than we are,” said Emanuel, who added that he is personally driven to help the less fortunate.

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