Three plucky sisters from Battersea are swimming the English Channel at the end of the month to raise money for street children in Peru.

Alice, 27, Louise, 26, and Emma, 24, Shepherd-Walwyn, all members of the Latin American Foundation for the Future (LAFF), will swim from Dover to Calais on July 30.

The girls will swim the 22-mile distance as a relay team to hopefully raise a target of £5,000 for Azul Wasi (The Blue House), a community-based project near Cusco in Peru that provides a home, education and training for street children, many of them orphans or abandoned by their parents.

Sarah Oakes, founder of LAFF, said: "We know how great the physical challenge is we’re taking on.

"The Channel can be cold and choppy even in summer, but the money we raise will help us secure a safe and happy future for the street children of Azul Wasi.

“The thought that we’re doing something positive to help these children towards a better life is what keeps us motivated during training, and we’re determined not to let them down.

“Everyone who sponsors us knows that the money they pledge will go directly on helping give the orphans and street children at Azul Wasi a helping hand and an escape from poverty.”

As well as Ms Oakes, 27, and the three Shepherd-Walwyn sisters, two other members of the LAFF, Hannah Barrett, 25, from Solihull, and Tom Parr, 27, from Cambridge, will also take part in the swim.

To prepare themselves and build up their stamina, the team have been training hard by regularly swimming outdoors in the River Thames and at Tooting Bec Lido.

To sponsor any of the swimmers, or find out more about LAFF’s work in Peru, visit www.laffcharity.org.uk.

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