Yvette Tetteh, a Ghanaian-British activist and athlete, became the first person to swim across the Volta River, making history in the process.
The entrepreneur in the agricultural sector began her 450-kilometer swim from Buipe to Ada.
It might take years before anyone beats this record for the longest swim ever recorded in Ghana.
Images: Overcoming the impossible, Yvette Tetteh and The Or Foundation Celebrate the finale of a historic 450km swim down the Volta River.
Photo credit: Ofoeamegavie #TV3GH pic.twitter.com/t4APs6Unqw
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) May 18, 2023
On this expedition, Yvette and the members of The Or Foundation set out to spread awareness about the harm that waste colonialism causes to ecosystems.
Following her historic swim, Yvette was greeted by drummers and dancers who paraded along the Volta River’s banks.
“The expedition started in Buipe on March 7th with the challenging task of putting the made-in-Ghana aluminum research vessel into the water,” she said, as quoted by Myjoyonline.
“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.”
Ghanaian activist Yvette Tetteh speaks after swimming 450 kilometers across the Volta River in 40 days.
The expedition builds on a year and a half of scientific research by @theORispresent Foundation into the environmental impact of secondhand clothing waste flowing through… pic.twitter.com/KpZKNRXd6t
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) May 18, 2023
She added: “The expedition spent several days in Yeji to top up on supplies and creature comforts, including haircuts, and then continued on to Kete Krachi and Tapa Abotoase for minor boat repairs before swimming onward toward Kpando and Akosombo.”
On Thursday, May 18, 2023, Yvette and her team’s perseverance paid off when she successfully completed the historic swimming across the Volta River.
