It's been life-changing" - meet Simba, who has taken up swimming in 'later life'

We're exceptionally proud of Healthcare Assistant Simba Kachere, who has been recognised in a national newspaper!

He has shared his swimming story with the Guardian who wanted to talk to people who have started a new hobby and challenge in later life. 

Simba talked about his swimming journey, which involved our Sports and Exercise Therapist Tom Bodkin teaching him how to swim. To read the article in full, please click here. A snippet is below.

‘We’d go on holiday and I’d never go into the water. I didn’t have the confidence’: Simba Kachere, 55

I was 53 when I learned to swim. I was born in Zimbabwe under colonial rule and there were no swimming pools in the areas where Black people lived when I was growing up. Those facilities were where the minority white population lived; areas my friends and I wouldn’t have dreamed of going to.

A few people had taught themselves to swim in rivers, but it was dangerous and you could get bilharzia – a painful disease – from parasitic worms. So I was never interested in learning to swim.

I emigrated to the UK in my early 30s and met my partner here. We started going on holiday abroad and I would sit by the swimming pool doing nothing. I’d never go into the water. I didn’t have the confidence, because I couldn’t swim. My partner encouraged me to learn, but I felt I was too old. It would be embarrassing.

When I was 53, a colleague suggested I secretly have swimming lessons. She knew I was going to Tenerife with our friends at Christmas. “Surprise them – learn how to swim and don’t tell them,” she said.

I work for a mental health charity, St Andrew’s Healthcare, and one of the staff benefits is free sessions in the pool with the charity’s sports and exercise therapists. So I decided to take my colleague’s advice.

The first day, I felt a bit exposed in my swimming trunks, and afraid of the water. But I put on an “I don’t care face” and jumped in. I saw others swimming perfectly when, to me, swimming even one lap seemed like a huge deal, and asked myself: “Am I going to be able to do this by Christmas?” But now I think that pressure was good for me. It encouraged me to set targets every time I went. I started watching the good swimmers to try to learn how they did it and, between sessions, I’d watch YouTube videos and do exercises to help me improve.

On the plane to Tenerife that December, my friend’s 12-year-old son bet me he could swim faster than me, because he still thought I couldn’t swim. He kept doubling the bet and I kept agreeing. Eventually, it was €20. We had the race on Christmas Day and to his surprise, I won! Of course, I gave him the €20 afterwards – but the shocked reaction of everyone watching was so funny and very satisfying. I encourage everyone to learn to swim. For me, it has been life-changing.