Katrina Simon, who on Tuesday was due to fly to Rwanda for three weeks to help Jersey Overseas Aid install a sanitation system at a local school, took to the water on 5 August to begin her ‘Row for Rwanda’.
Each day she rowed from St Helier harbour to St Aubin’s Bay and back, via different marker buoys to make up the mileage.
And after three days of rowing in three different boats, she finished the gruelling challenge having completed no less than 3,000 strokes and 90 km (55.9 miles).
‘I wanted to do something that was more challenging than rowing from Sark to Jersey, which I have done before,’ said Miss Simon (36), who lives in St Ouen and is a member of Jersey Rowing Club.
‘The total length of Lake Kivu in Rwanda is 89 km, so I wanted to row that distance.
‘To have completed the event definitely feels like a big achievement.’
Miss Simon said she was also very grateful to everyone who sponsored her, including many members of her own club.
‘So far I’ve raised just over £600 and there are people at the rowing club who are still putting money into the fundraising buckets,’ she added.
Miss Simon, who is a teacher at Bel Royal School, said she was now looking forward to helping out with the eco-sanitation project in Rwanda.
‘The money I’ve raised will go towards the project, and I’ll go to Rwanda with open eyes and an open heart, to see how best we can help the people there,’ she said.
