Ghanaian British athlete and environmental activist, Yvette Tetteh completes a historic challenge as she finishes the longest recorded swim in Ghanaian history.
Yvette Tetteh who also doubles as an agribusiness entrepreneur becomes the first person to have swam across the Volta River having started from Buipe to Ada – a 450 kilometres swimming journey.
Yvette took this expedition together with the crew of The Or Foundation’s accompanying research vessel, “The Woman Who Does Not Fear,” to raise awareness about the impact of waste colonialism on the ecosystems after conducting extensive research into microfiber pollution from textile waste.
Having completed her final lap at Ada, Yvette was welcomed by a cheerful crowd of drummers and dancers together with the crew at The Or Foundation as celebrations for her historic record began.
Yvetter after her impressive milestone however reported that the final day of the swim was one of the hardest yet as the current from the Gulf of Guinea at the Ada estuary pushed her upstream. Yet she persevered to Tsarley Kope Beach Resort where a celebration awaited.
“The expedition started in Buipe on March 7th with the challenging task of putting the made-in-Ghana aluminum research vessel into the water. The Swim Team, as members of the expedition crew have come to call themselves, then ventured down the Black Volta onto the Volta Lake, stopping in towns and villages along the way, many that have been flooded by rising waters and some that don’t appear on common maps at all. The expedition spent several days in Yeji to top up on supplies and creature comforts, including hair cuts, and then continued on to Kete Krachi and Tapa Abotoase for minor boat repairs before swimming onward toward Kpando and Akosombo. The choppy waters south of Kpando made for especially challenging swimming, with waves often breaking above her head,” Yvette explained.
By: Jude Tackie
