Kayakers Albert Gambina and Dorian Vassallo are currently preparing to paddle around the entire coast of Malta, with the aim of raising funds for local NGO Dr Klown.
Weather-permitting, they are planning to paddle for 40 nautical miles on 29th June, from early morning till late evening, unaccompanied and without stopping.
Albert and Dorian have been kayaking together for almost 15 years. After joining the Malta Canoe Federation at around the same time, their first major event together was in 2008 when, as part of a group of 8 Maltese kayakers, they traversed the channel from Malta to Sicily.
Since then, the unstoppable duo have continued to paddle long distances regularly, always with the intention of raising money for different local charities.
“If we’re going to put so much of our energy into this, might as well do it in a way that benefits others who need it”. This is how Dorian sums up the goal behind setting up Kayak for Charity with Albert, originally named Kayak for Cancer due to Dorian’s own past experiences.
“My first wife Tessa passed away in 2005 after battling cancer for 5 months”, he explains. “Kayak for Cancer was something I came up with a few weeks before her passing, both to honour her memory and to support the organisation that was helping her and the rest of our family through that difficult time.”
As Albert and Dorian continued to attempt and accomplish different routes, they decided to expand the relevance of their initiative by raising funds for several other charities, and this time round they chose Dr Klown, an NGO that has been providing clown services at Mater Dei Hospital since 2011 through volunteers.
This will be their 20th circumnavigation of the Maltese islands, as a means of training for a very long and challenging international journey that they are planning to pursue some time next year.
In the run up to 29th June, Dr Klown is using their widely followed social media platforms to shed light on Kayak for Charity, with the humorous angle of including one of its own aptly named clown doctors Dr Lost in a number of fun online videos.
You can find out more about Kayak for Charity by visiting their Facebook page. You can also support this initiative by donating to Dr Klown via their website here. The general public as well as companies can place donations via SMS, PayPal, bank transfer and even by cheque.
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