Two weeks ago, on Thursday 14th September, two Kissamos athletes set out from the island of Antikythira to swim the 55 km south to Kissamos, in support of a local school for special needs. Shortly after 4.00 pm on the Friday afternoon, Kostas Varouchakis and Nikos Paterakis arrived at the rocky Customs Beach in Kissamos, to be greeted with cheers, applause and fireworks from an assembly of family members and friends.
The whole of the Kissamos Municipal Council, members of local associations, teachers and pupils from the area, together with children of the Special Vocational Education Laboratory of Kissamos (E.E.E.EK) at Koutoufiana in the village of Gramvousa, applauded the athletes for their exceptional effort in swimming the 55 km from Antikythira in a little under 30 hours. Their aim was to raise the community’s awareness of children with special needs, such as the pupils of the special school at Gramvousa.
Triathlete Kostas Varouchakis paid tribute to his fellow swimmer, who is a paralympic athlete and sailor. “What can I say about Nikos, he swam the whole way with only one arm,” he said. Nikos Paterakis in his turn thanked all those who supported their effort, saying: “I took part in this for two reasons, because as a disabled person I wanted to support the special school, and secondly to honour Kostas. I feel very proud to have known him.”
The Mayor of Kissamos, Giorgos Mylonakis, was the first to congratulate the two men, saying: “We are moved, because you gave your all for a cause which is sacred to me.” Also there to greet them were Deputy Mayor Giorgios Hachlakis, the meteorologist Manolis Lekkas and the head of the Kissamos E.E.E.EK Vassiliki Pandi.
Among other comments, Ms Pandi said: “The truth is that there are examples to be copied and examples to be avoided. Kostas and Nikos are an example to be copied because they are emphasising the need for equal rights. The need for a world in which we will all have access everywhere and will not be afraid of anything.”
Mr Lekkas congratulated them on what he described as “for me and for many, a superhuman effort”. The deputy mayor also gave his thanks and presented Kostas Varouchakis’s wife Maria with a bouquet.
The event has been raising funds on the Give&Fund website, and the project is still open until 30th October. Those wishing to contribute can do so at: https://www.giveandfund.com/giveandfund/project/55km-Swim-Antikythera-Kissamos. An IBAN is given for those who wish to donate by bank transfer.
The Special Vocational Education Laboratory of Kissamos is a secondary school for students who have been diagnosed with a disability or special needs. The attendance at the school lasts 6 years and its graduates receive a high-school diploma equal to the rest of the diplomas of general secondary education. In addition to the basic courses (language, mathematics, etc.), culinary and agricultural classes are taught in the school’s laboratories, whose aim is the vocational rehabilitation of students, where possible, after graduation.
(Haniotika Nea and Giveandfund.com)