Emma McKeon Bangladesh Fundraiser

✨ Why I'M Doing this

In late 2024, I had the privilege of visiting Bangladesh as part of my role as a UNICEF Australia Ambassador. It was an experience that truly changed my life.

From the moment I arrived, I was struck by the warmth and generosity of the people. They welcomed me into their lives, sharing their stories with an openness that will always stay with me.

Bangladesh is a vibrant country, full of music, dance and festivities. Although it’s two-thirds the size of Victoria, Australia, there are more than 170 million people – making it one of the world's most densely populated countries.

Many children and families face immense challenges, from poverty and malnutrition to recurring natural disasters. Last year, driven by climate change, Bangladesh experienced its worst floods in 34 years, putting more than 4 million children at risk of drowning.

As well as grappling with floods, Bangladesh also hosts the world’s largest refugee camp at Cox’s Bazar, where there are nearly one million Rohingya refugees, half of them children.

During my trip to Bangladesh, I was fortunate to visit Cox’s Bazar and saw first-hand the impact of UNICEF-supported programs. From water treatment stations providing safe drinking water to thousands of children and their families, to surf camps offering psychosocial support and life skills-based learning to hundreds of girls.

One initiative, however, stood out to me - the SwimSafe program. This project enables a safe environment for children aged 6 to 12 to learn and get comfortable around water by constructing a bamboo scaffold submerged into ponds so children learn swimming without having to go into deeper waters.

I learned that approximately 15,000 children and adolescents die through drowning each year - that’s around 40 children who drown per day – which makes it the leading cause of death amongst young children in Bangladesh.

These numbers shocked me. Although not all drownings can be easily prevented, the greatest tool a child can have is the ability to swim. Swimming has always been an important part of my life - I learned at a young age, and I believe every child, no matter where they are, deserves the same opportunity I was lucky to have.

For this reason, I’m setting myself an ambitious target. I would like to raise $250,000 to help fund programs in Bangladesh.

𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀:

1. A SwimSafe program in Bangladesh, which costs under $10 to teach a child how to swim.

2. Provide safe drinking water to children and their families through water treatment plants which is desalinated and delivered through ‘water ATMs’ to communities, costing just $0.71 per month per person.

3. Continue to ensure access to safe and quality education for children and adolescents in the Rohingya camps, costing just $188 per year to provide education to a child.
   

Please help me reach my fundraising goal by donating today! With your support, we can make a huge impact.