Brave diver encourages pupils to give back
The organisation's aim is inspire and motivate.
MORE than 500 Suid-Natal High pupils listened intently to the 10m platform diver, Monique Gladding’s story when she visited the school last Thursday morning.
Monique and her husband, Steve, have moved from Sheffield in England to the South Coast and have established an initiative to motivate and inspire school pupils.
Monique, who is the daughter of Steve and Jaqueline McCarroll of St Mike’s, told her story of how she had to be dragged unconscious from the bottom of a pool after cracking her head on a concrete platform and falling into the water in 2011.
“I came within 12 seconds of dying and I thought to myself I would never do this again,” she said. She explained how her brother Shane’s untimely and tragic death in 2008 had motivated her to start diving again.
The couple has recently launched a non-profit organisation called Fill a Bag. They visit different high schools and give talks and workshops. The schools do not pay for these sessions, all they have to do is give donations.
Pupils are encouraged to donate clothes, food and anything that could be useful to the less fortunate.
“We then take these bags to the community in the different rural areas,” explained Steve. He added that they then sell the clothes at reasonable prices.
“This is like giving back to the community, we are selling beautiful things to rural areas very cheaply,” he added.
“We have targeted schools on the South Coast but our aim is to reach as many schools as possible throughout the country,” said Steve, who is one of the directors of Fill a Bag.
He also added that they are also planning on taking these talks to schools in rural areas.
To get involved with Fill a Bag, contact stevegladding@fillabag.org or visit www.fillabag.org
