Last night, Swannie Michael Johnston presented Jo Stewart and the Tri Bob Austswim crew a cheque for VND52.625million

Last night, Swannie Michael Johnston (MJ) presented Jo Stewart and the Tri Bob Austswim crew a cheque for VND52.625million (the equivalent of USD2,699 at today’s exchange rates) to go towards the Hoi An Swimming Program.

VND40million was raised at the Vietnam Swans AFL Grand Final Parties in Hanoi and Saigon. Then, with St Kilda and Collingwood playing a draw, we all came back again the following weekend and raised an additional VND12.625million for a grand total of VND52.625 million.

In the photo are (L to R): Doan Minh Trung, Nguyen Thanh Liem, Duong Van Thanh, Kerre Burley (AustSwim Coach), Le Thi Thu Van, Nguyen Van Chien, Le Thi Thanh, and Vo Thi Trung Dao.

MJ says that,

These three men and four women are part of the first group of 31 to ever achieve AustSwim Certification in Viet Nam – something that they, the Swans and our sponsors should be, and are, very proud of.

A special thank you to our sponsors who donated such amazing items for auctions and raffles (click here to see the list of sponsors and prizes). And, of course, to the people who spent freely on the two weekends. It was a great result.

In April, during the ANZAC Friendship Match, over USD1,000 was raised . This money broadened the reach of the program considerably as it was used to help bus kids from outlying areas into Hoi An for the swimming program.

Next year, in May, the Vietnam Swans will play a “Saving lives is the Goal” Match in Hoi An which will be timed to coincide with the Royal Life Saving Association of Australia’s world conference on drowning prevention.