Featured image via Omar El Galla

Egyptian adventurer Omar El Galla recently announced the delay of his swimming adventure due to some logistical difficulties. Even though he’s now ready, this did not stop him from seeking support through crowdfunding to raise awareness of the dangers of single-use plastic. You may ask yourself why single-use plastic should concern you? Or, better yet, who is Omar El Galla? Allow us to intrigue you. 

El Galla is eyeing the longest swim ever in the Red Sea. In the three-month-long swim, Omar will be covering a distance of 900 km from Suez in the north to Shalateen in the south. He will have nothing but the suit he’s wearing and a boat following him where he could rest and eat. 

 

 

 

 

 

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I will start my #SwimmingEgypt adventure sometime between right now and next week. Unfortunately, I was forced to postpone due to some logistical challenges. But anytime now I’ll be taking off -- and I’m ready as ever. Want to support me in raising awareness to the dangers of single-use plastic? You’ll find the link to my crowdfunding page through the link in my bio. P.S. rewards for contributions include T shirts and mix tapes among other cool things. Also your organization can become a sponsor to #SwimmingEgypt through the crowdfunding campaign. #FindGalla Photo courtesy of @omar.z4in

A post shared by Omar El Galla 🇪🇬🌍 عمر الجلاّ (@omarelgalla) on Sep 16, 2019 at 7:26am PDT

Omar is planning to leave behind his life in Cairo to fight plastic pollution. Many don’t realize the harmful and dangerous effect single-use plastic items have on the environment, people, marine life, atmosphere, and the planet as a whole, and so the great adventurer is advocating just that. He is willing to leave behind a lucrative job, risk his life, tolerate so much discomfort and pain, for the sake of his country and its people. 

It’s important to also remember that this isn’t El Galla’s first adventure. After cycling across Egypt, the legend ran along the Nile from Abu Simbel to Alexandria for 1,500 km. This may be just a number for you, but really swallow that again and again, and try to absorb the idea of how exhausting and discomforting that must have felt. After all, that’s the life of adventure.

So, what do we learn from Omar El Galla? It’s not to do something “over the top” to become well known and it’s not to go extreme or act out either. It is to fight for things we believe in, to stick to our values, and to follow our passion regardless of how much we have to sacrifice and how much discomfort we have to tolerate in the meantime. Keep on pushing for what you stand for, regardless of how much approval you have from others or how sluggish you may feel. To say the least, don’t give up on what you came here to do, don’t let go, and hold on tight because when the fight is over, they will belong to you, meaning you won’t need to hold on. 

To support El Galla’s adventure and the cause he’s trying to raise awareness for, then share his crowdfunding campaign on Zoomal or even contribute yourself.